Bad Always Leads To Good
by I Love Dimitri Belikov
Summary: STARTS AT THE END OF SPIRIT BOUND! Five years after Rose has been proven innocent and left court, she meets Dimitri again and has to live with him in the same house for unlimited time. And now she has some new cool powers and a new destiny in life.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **STARTS AT THE END OF SPIRIT BOUND! Five years after Rose has been proven innocent and left court, she meets Dimitri again and has to live with him in the same house for unlimited time. And now she has some new cool powers and a new destiny in life.

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**Bad always leads to good**

**Chapter 1**

It had been five years. Five years since I've been proven innocent, five years since I've left court, five years since I've seen _him._

After the guards gave me my freedom back, I went straight to Lissa's room. When she was done jumping up and down about the fact that I was found innocent, she told me that Dimitri left, and that she didn't know where he was or if he'll ever come back. Lissa told me that he was calling her every couple of days, checking if she was okay and if something happened. I cried for days after she told me that. I hadn't left my room, didn't eat or drink, just sat on my bed and cried.

Then, one day, I decided I couldn't stand the suffering and pain anymore, so I packed my things, wrote Lissa a letter and left court.

Right now I'm in Russia; I'm hunting Strigois with the other unpromised Dhampirs. (I know I have a promise mark, but you know what I mean.) Those are the same Dhampirs that had helped me search for Dimitri while he was still a Strigoi and I left school to kill him. (Wow, I ran from school and court a lot.)

I joined the guys five years ago, two weeks after I left court. First, I went to Spokane. I felt like I had something to do there.

***_* FLASHBACK *_***

I went to the mall in Spokane, where I first saw the list of letters indicating of the twelve royal families, I killed there every Strigoi I could find. Then, I went to the warehouse where Mason was killed, I thought it would be empty, but it wasn't.

I heard voices in the warehouse, I killed the Strigoi that was guarding outside of the ware house and walked closer, so I could listen.

"You think one of them will do it?" The first voice asked.

"Sure they will, those kids know that they are going to die anyway, one of the Moroi will crack and will kill one of his friends." The second voice answered.

When the Strigoi said that I immediately knew I had to help those kids, the Strigois are doing to them what they did to us when Mason died, and I had no doubt that they can't make it all alive without my help.

I knew what I had to do; it's the first thing I learned in Stan's class. I will face the Strigois one at a time, until I'll get found and then I'll have to face the Strigois that I hadn't killed yet.

I did exactly that, I snuck behind a Strigoi and killed it before it even had the time to alert the others.

I killed five Strigois that way, without anyone even noticing, but the sixth screamed before I could stake him. I quickly killed him and prepared to face the rest of the Strigois in the house.

Three Strigois jumped on me; I fought them and fought hard. I broke the first one's neck, leaving him unconscious for a few minutes, while the first Strigoi was unconscious, I staked the second.

The third Strigoi just stood there and watched me. After I staked the unconscious Strigoi I turned around to face him. "You are Rose Hathaway right? The one that killed Ishaia when she was only seventeen?" he asked. "Well then, I'm honored to be the one that will awaken you." And then, he jumped at me.

Oh, he underestimated me, he thought he can take me by himself, well, he is going to have a little surprise, he was harder to kill than the other eight, but I finally found an opening to his heart and staked him, he managed to whisper "You're good" before he fell on the ground, took his last breath and died.

I took my stake out of his chest, wiping his blood on his shirt and ran to the basement, searching the kids the Strigoi were talking about, I could sense that there are more Strigoi in the warehouse but I decided that I'll first help those kids to get out of here before I will kill the rest.

I entered the room where my friends and I were captured and saw them. Three Moroi and five Dhampirs tied up to eight chairs.

In the room there were also eight Strigoi. I ran into the room, staking one Strigoi before he could react. One down, seven to go.

I let my senses take over, not even noticing what I'm doing, I already staked two more Strigois before even realizing it.

And then, it was me fighting five Strigois at the same time. Kicking and punching, I saw an opening to the heart of the Strigoi on my right and staked him.

After an hour or so of fighting, I managed to stake the last Strigoi, it was hard, he was better than all the other Strigoi and I could tell he was really old, which mean he was very strong. I was very tired at the end of the fight. I waited a couple of seconds, until I sensed that there were no more Strigoi and then I went and untied the kids. I still kept my guard up, incase there are humans in the warehouse.

I took the Moroi and the Dhampir out of the warehouse to a place with sun; it had been hours since I entered the warehouse, and in the meantime the human day started.

We sat there for a few minutes, catching our breaths.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, really concerned. They were all really pale, even the Dhampirs.

"Um… I think so." One of the kids mumble. He was a dhampir and had black hair and grey eyes. "I'm Austin, thanks for saving our asses out there." He said. He looked like the only one out of the eight that wasn't in shock. My guess is that it wasn't the first time he saw a Strigoi.

"That wasn't the first time you saw a Strigoi, right?" I asked him, curious; He looked like he's sixteen.

"No." That was the only thing he said, I didn't push it.

"So, how old are you guys?" I tried to change the subject and get the others out of the shock at the same time.

"Um… I'm almost sixteen." Austin said.

The only girl in this group, a Moroi girl, said "I turned sixteen today." She was a blond Moroi, kind of reminded me Mia.

"My name is Kelly." She said. "They are Thomas and Jake." She pointed on the two other Moroi "And they are Chris, Ron, Owen and James." She pointed on the four other Dhampirs.

"Hi." I told them all. "So Kelly, are you sure you're okay? You look very pale."

"Yeah, I just need to feed. When can we get back to the Academy?" She looked really eager to get back to her school, and I understand why. When the Strigoi kidnapped my friends and me, I wanted to get back to the school too.

"As soon as your friends get out of the shock."

"No, we're okay, lets just get back, I want to be out of here." Owen said and the rest of the boys nodded.

"So, where are you guys from?" I asked.

"We are here with our school for a vacation, in the ski lodge close by." Chris answered. _Oh, the irony._

"Okay guys, listen. I'm going to drive you back to the ski lodge, and then I'll go to my way." I said to them and stood up.

"Wait, you're not coming with us to the ski lodge? I thought they were the ones that send you to find us." Kelly said, confused look on her face.

"No, I'm here on my own. I heard what the Strigoi were doing and decided to come to your rescue." I stated, hoping they won't recognize me.

"But how can you get your _molnija_ mark if you're on your own?" Jake asked. "You killed more Strigoi than every guardian I know, and you look like you just got out of school, maybe eighteen or nineteen."

"It doesn't matter how old am I. I'm not going to get the marks for the kills. You should tell your teachers where is the warehouse and that there are seventeen bodies in there, tell them that in a locked bathroom in the end of the mall there are twelve more bodies." I've gotten tired from all those explanations. "Let's start moving."

"Wow! You killed twenty nine Strigois today? You have to get your _molnija_ marks!" Ron exclaimed. We were walking to the car rental. Lucky me, my dad gave me huge amount of money as an I'm-glad-you-didn't-kill-the-queen present.

"I don't have to do anything, and I'd appreciate it if you will not tell them how I look or how old I am. Do me a favor; don't even tell then if I'm a man or a woman." I told them; I knew they would listen to me.

"We promise, don't worry." Kelly said.

After that, I drove them to the sky lodge and when I saw them get into the wards I drove away.

***_* END OF FLASHBACK *_***

After Spokane, I killed a few more Strigoi and then went to Russia.

I have to say. Denis was shocked when he saw me on his doorstep, told me he thought I was dead. I told Denis and the guys that Sydney gave me a few bottles of this cool stuff she uses to hide the Strigois' bodies. I also told them I killed fifty Strigoi since I ran from court, and that I can use this thing only if I'll let her know how many Strigoi I killed so she could write the kills under the name "The Killer", she also said she won't tell anyone that I am the killer.

Right now, the guys and I are in a club pretending to be dancing and waiting for some Strigois to come. I'm wearing Strigoi's bait clothes, really short dress that reveals a lot of skin, pale body make-up to make me look pale and my dress is blood red, matching my blood red lipstick. We're in Vladivostok; it's one of those big cities in Russia with lots of Strigoi lurking in every corner. _Well, not for long._

Just when I thought that, I sensed the Strigois. A huge amount of Strigois.

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**R&R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bad always leads to good**

**Previously on Bad Always Leads To Good:**

_We're in Vladivostok; it's one of those big cities in Russia with lots of Strigoi lurking in every corner.__Well, not for long._

_Just when I thought that, I sensed the Strigois. A huge amount of Strigois._

**Chapter 2**

It was close to forty Strigois, maybe even more.

I run to Denis. Denis and I became great friends in the past five years. Denis knows everything that had happened with Dimitri, he said that Dimitri is a dick for not wanting me (Well, not in those exact words, but I'm pissed at him, and he needs to know better than to piss off Rose Hathaway), and that if he sees him ever again his face won't be so god-like for long (Again, not in those exact words).

Of course, Artur and Lev also know that something had happened between Dimitri and I, and that we are not together anymore, but they don't know the _whole_ story. They just know that Dimitri isn't a Strigoi anymore and that he had hurt me, even after he had turned back to Dhampir.

"Denis, there is a huge amount of Strigois here, too much for them to be here randomly." I tell Denis quietly, so that even a Strigoi with its super hearing won't be able to hear us.

"How many?"

"More than forty."

"What? Why would forty Strigois go to the same club? There aren't enough people in here for all the Strigois to drink from." He looks at me with questioning eyes, as if when I sense that they are coming, I can also sense why they are here.

"I don't know, Denis, I'm not Edward freaking Cullen!" I snap at him. Usually, I still have my smartass comments, but I also know that while we're hunting, a comment can cost one of our lives, so I try to be serious while hunting, key word on _try_, because you can't stop one from being himself.

"Lets get Lev and Artur, and then decide what we're gonna do." I sigh. Every time we go out hunting, I'm very worried that something will happen to one of my boys, which is why I usually insist that I will be the one to perform the killing and that they will be there to help me with cases like that, when there are more Strigois than I can handle alone. But still, if I could have my way, the boys will be sitting in the hotel right now while I'm here. I'd rather die than let anything happen to my boys.

We find Lev and Artur near the bar, drinking coke. I beg them to leave the club but they refuse unless I come with them too. So, I promise them I will, even though I know I won't. My main goal right now is to make sure my boys are safe, and then I could come back and try to keep the Humans safe, too.

We try to get out of the club without anyone noticing, which is easy for the boys but harder for me. Apparently, Strigoi's bait clothes work on Humans, too.

The guys are already near the exit, waiting for me while I'm still trying to dance my way out of the club.

Suddenly, the music and the lights turn off, leaving us in total darkness. After a few moments, a dim light is turned on near the DJ stand.

I look at the DJ, searching for the problem, and immediately see that we are in a load of trouble. The DJ stands there; a Strigoi is holding him by the neck and is searching for something with his eyes.

"We know that 'The Killer' is here, so come here and we will do this as painless and quick as we can." Says the Strigoi. He is old, you could tell just by looking at him. He is bald and really tall; a little shorter than a certain Russian god I used to know, but still tall nonetheless.

I can feel my face lose all the color it had.

"If you won't come up here now, we will kill every single person in this club and you will die anyway. Now the question is if you want to be responsible for the other's deaths, too." The Strigoi says. "We locked the door, there is no way out."

I look at Denis, Artur and Lev. After I catch their attention I hold up ten fingers then point at myself, then I hold up ten fingers and point at Denis. I do the same with Artur and Lev, signaling them that each of us will have to fight ten Strigois on his own, which was pretty obvious. They all nod so I take out the stake from the garter attached to my hip under my skirt and get ready to fight.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys!**

**Thanks for all your reviews! I got a lot of ideas when I was at my friend's house so I hope you like it.**

**I want you to remember one thing:**

**Reviews = Happy me, Happy me = another update very, _very,_ soon. Maybe even tomorrow.**

**You know how the usual disclaimer work!**

**P.S.: Someone Russian will join us next time! (I'm so mean, I know)**

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**Bad always leads to good**

**Previously on Bad Always Leads To Good:**

_I look at Denis, Artur and Lev. After I catch their attention I hold up ten fingers then point at myself, then I hold up ten fingers and point at Denis. I do the same with Artur and Lev, signaling them that each of us will have to fight ten Strigois on his own, which was pretty obvious. They all nod so I take out the stake from the garter attached to my hip under my skirt and get ready to fight. _

**Chapter 3**

"There is a girl with a stake in her hand, but she's a girl, she can't be 'The Killer'!" One of the Strigois shouts.

"There are three more boys with stakes here! Which one to take with us and which to kill?" Another Strigoi yells.

"Let's bring the four of them; we can check who 'The Killer' is later." The Strigoi in the DJ stand says. Obviously, he was the leader and every Strigoi immediately had done what he had said.

Nine Strigoi tried to get me, and ten went on each of the boys, they were underestimating me because I am a girl. Well, we will see who is better when I kick their ass'. The leader of the Strigois just stads there, still holding the DJ, watching the fight.

I punch and kick, trying to block the blows the Strigois in front of me are sending; I still get some really hard hits, but I can't feel the pain, the adrenalin in my body is taking over and making it easy for me to ignore the pain. I know that once the fight is over it will hurt, a lot.

From what I can tell, I'm fighting three new Strigois; two were Dhampirs before they were changed and one was Human, and Six old Strigois. I quickly stake one of the new Strigois while kicking the other that tried to grab my arm.

The fight is tiring; so far I had staked the three new Strigois and one old Strigoi.

I look at the remaining Strigois, waiting for one of them to make a mistake and give me an opening to his heart.

I am fighting five Strigoi at the same time, slashing their faces with my stake every time they try to get closer to me and catch me. Then, I see me chance, I shove my stake to the chest of a blacked hair Strigoi. But, before I could plunge the stake into his heart; he slaps my hand away, my stake still stuck in his chest. He was a Dhampir before he was turned, and a real bitch to fight, but the fact that my stake is still in his chest helps.

Before he could get the stake out, I kick it deeper and deeper until I hit his heart. He releases an agonized scream of pain before collapsing on the floor.

I quickly take the stake out of his chest, ready to face the rest of the Strigois.

Five down, four to go.

From the corner of my eye, I see the guys fighting their Strigois, Lev and Artur already killed four Strigois each, and Denis killed five.

I see Denis staking his sixth Strigoi while I stake mine. Denis was always astonished that I pay attention to the fight in front of me while still watching others fight. I always replied that I, as opposed to him, have enough brain to do two things at the same time, but it always surprised me that even when my mind is somewhere else, I don't get distracted from the fight. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

We fight for a long time, all the humans around us are still watching, shocked. I want to tell them to run away, to save themselves, but I know I can't let all those humans go after what they saw; the Alchemists will have to deal with them. Sydney will not be happy.

After I kill my last Strigoi, I head toward the guys. Artur and Lev have each one Strigoi left, and Denis has two. I walk toward Denis's direction while a blond female Strigoi gives him a strong blow at the side of his head, successfully knocking him unconscious.

I run behind the stupid Strigoi that had hurt my Denis and before she could even see me, I stake her from the back. How dare she hurt Denis? Now I'm really concerned, the blow seemed pretty hard.

I'm so furious that Denis was hurt that I kill the last Strigoi before even realizing it. Denis is my best friend for the last five years. Of course that if I compare my friendship with him to my friendship with Lissa, Lissa is still my best friend ever and always will be, but Denis is my second best friend, and I won't let anyone hurt him.

Artur had already finished his last Strigoi and Lev was still fighting his. I am at Denis's side in a second, trying to wake him up. Artur helps Lev with his last Strigoi and they both come next to me, looking at me with questioning eyes.

"Lev, you will take care of Denis while Artur and I will deal with the leader." I have some questions that needed answers before I'll kill that son of a bitch.

Artur and Lev nod and start moving – Lev toward Denis and Artur with me to the DJ stand where the leader of the Strigois is.

We both have our stakes in our hands, watching every move the Strigoi makes; he just stands there, smiling at us. I tell Artur to stay back and to join the fight only if I'll need help.

I take cautious steps toward the Strigoi that still hadn't moved from his place. He doesn't look afraid or worried. Even when I am just one step away from the Strigoi, he remains calm.

I push my stake on his bare neck, making him scream in pain.

"Compel the humans to forget what happened in the last two hours and it I will make this as quick and painless as I can." I repeat his words from before. I need answers before I kill him; why not make an easier job for the Alchemist at the same time? "If not, you will be begging for death before I'll kill you."

"You're one little scary Dhampir, aren't you?" the Strigoi taunts, unimpressed. I push my stake harder on his neck, making him scream again. "Don't worry, I don't want the humans to know about Morois and Strigois yet, too. I'll admit, I had another way in mind to make sure that they won't talk, but I'm sure you won't like it if I'll drain everyone here, won't you?" He is still calm, like he doesn't even care that he is going to be dead in a minute.

"Compel them." I growl. Wow, I guess hunting gets the animalistic side of me to show up. I slash my stake on his face, and then place it on his cheek for a few seconds. When you place a stake on Strigois skin, it will melt the skin, like the silver does to the vampires in the TV show 'True Blood'.

"I told you I'll do it, no need to inflict pain." He winces. This Strigoi is really getting on my nerves, he is lucky he compelled them after he said that because I was going to do it again.

"Now walk with me quietly out of this club. One mistake and you will be on the floor with a stake through your forehead, it won't kill you, but it will make you want to die very, _very,_ much." I sound scary, even to myself.

"Yes ma'am." He tries to salute, but I put my stake on his cheek again, which gets him to shut up. I walk the Strigoi to the nearest exit just in time to see Artur disposing of the bodies of the Strigois we fought.

When Artur was done, he and Lev took Denis's unconscious body in their hand and we all got out of the club.

"How did you know where we are?" I ask, getting straight to the point.

"Impatient, aren't we?" The monster says with a smile, still not concerned.

"Shut up." I growl again. "How. Did. You. Find. Me?"

"Why don't we make a deal? I'll change you into one of us, and then I'll tell you how we found you." This Strigoi is really getting on my nerves. Now I understand why people always hated my attitude, talking to a smartass really sucks when you are trying to get information.

"You know what? This information doesn't worth seeing your ugly face for another second, so you can kiss the world goodbye, you're going to die and you're going to die now."

"Are you sure about this? I mean, what if something happens to your unconscious boyfriend over there?" The Strigoi says, a smile on his face. "I saw how you reacted when Kate hit him. You are very attached to him and I can see that he loves you, even if you just think of him as a friend." Then he shakes me off of him, runs toward Denis that is lying on the ground and throws him onto a brick wall so hard that I could hear some bones break.

"Denis!" I cry out. The Strigoi runs away from us, trying to escape. I couldn't let him get away with what he did to Denis. He needs to suffer.

I am shaking with rage. I suddenly feel something hot on my right hand and something cold on my left hand. I look at my hands, one had a ball of fire and the other has a ball of something dark, something like shadows. I don't know what had happened, and at the same time I couldn't care, I want the Strigoi to pay for hurting Denis.

I send the ball of fire at the Strigoi, hitting him on his back and knocking him to the floor.

In less than a second I am next to him, I have no idea how I got there, considering the fact that he is at least fifty meters away from me but I still couldn't care, hurting this Strigoi was the only thing on my mind.

"Hello again," I tell him with a cold smile, I could see the fear in his eyes, I am glad I could take him out of his calm state. "Ready to suffer?" I laugh icily; I am going to enjoy this.

I throw the ball of shadows on him. I have no idea what it will do, but I have a feeling it won't tickle him. And I am right.

He screams in pain, twisting on the ground, the shadows were around him, hurting him.

I have no more balls to throw at him, so I point my palms at him, concentrating on the darkness I took from Lissa every week. I would get inside her head every Sunday, just for a few seconds so I can suck the darkness out of her, not enough to see what's up with her. I knew that if I will, I will want to get back to court, and I'm not sure if I'm ready to face everyone there.

The Strigoi flew up in the air, floating there, I make a small movement with my hand, and the Strigoi's arm is ripped off of his body, he screams with pain. But then I hear Denis screams and it's like a glass of ice cold water on my face. _Now is not the time for games! Your friend is hurt! You need to save him!_ I decide that no matter how much I want the Strigoi to pay for his actions, I need to help Denis. I drop him back on the ground, my hand twitches and suddenly he is burning until he is no more than a pile of ashes.

Suddenly, I'm very tired. I walk toward the place where Denis is lying, covered in blood. Lev is on the phone, talking to who I assume is Sydney. I could see and hear them even from this far away. I know it's not normal, but after what just happened with the Strigoi, I'm pretty sure I'm not a normal Dhampir. I will worry about it after I'll be sure Denis is okay. And after I'll get some sleep.

"Hello? Sydney, listen we need help. Denis is hurt; you have to send someone to help us." I hear Lev. I'm now near the guys and they are eyeing me weirdly, like I'm going to explode every second. I guess they saw what just happened with that Strigoi.

"Rose looks like she is going to black out every minute, too… We're at the same club as yesterday… Yes… Come quick."

"She said she will come here as fast as she can."

"I just hope it's fast enough." I say. Then I black out.

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**So, another chapter has ended. I promise I'll update very soon.**

**R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay guys!**

**I got another chapter ready! I have to say that when I thought of the story, I never thought Rose would have extra powers, but it feets.**

**I don't know if I should keep writing this story, it doesn't seem like you like it.**

**So tell me if you think that I should keep writing or just delete this story.**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 4

I woke up to a blinding white light, I looked around and saw a figure standing next to me. It was a female and she was oddly familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen her before, it looked like she hadn't even seen me, like I wasn't there.

She had long brown hair and brown eyes. She was 5"6 and had curves in all the right places. Understanding downed on me. It was me, the girl I'm looking at, who can't see me, was me.

The girl -me- lifted her hand and a ball of fire floated a few inches above her palm, she sent her hand forward, and the ball flew from her palm and made a wall of fire in front of her. Then, the scene changed, _I_ was there too, not the me who was watching, the other me, the one who made the wall of fire. It was very confusing watching myself.

Now, there was a burning house in front of me and the _girl_. She held her palm up again, and this time water were showing, she sent them to the house and the fire died. Then, she lighted the house on fire _again_ and held her hand up. Sand was suddenly thrown on the house out of nowhere. It was all very confusing. Why would I see myself using magic? I didn't even remember how had I got to this bizarre place. _I_ had raised my hand again, and a tornado began. Then, three walls of fire, water and earth were in front of us again.

Something dark came out of my hands. It flew into the fire, suffocating it. Then, a Strigoi appeared in front of me; he hadn't attacked or something, just stood there. The darkness lifted him in the air, twirled him around, and then decapitates his head.

One last time, the scene changed again. Now, near my feet, was a little girl she was pale and very still, too still. She was dead, it was obvious, no one can be so still. I watched myself as I bended above the girl, putting my hands on her chest, where her heart is, and closing my eyes.

After a few seconds, the girl started breathing again, she opened her eyes and smiled, then, she hugged the other me.

That's when it all went blinding white again.

_Beep… Beep… Beep…_

Oh! What is this annoying sound?

When I opened my eyes again, I was still under the blinding light, but this time it was different. I was on a hard bed in an empty room, I had a heart monitor attached to my body. _Hospital _I thought in distaste.

"Rose?" I heard a feminine voice call. It was Sydney.

"Yes?" my voice was hoarse like I slept for a lot of hours.

"How are you?" you could see that Sydney was really worried, I was touched.

"Um… I'm fine, I was just really tired. For how long was I out?" I cleared my voice a little.

"Not much, something like half an hour, maybe less." Oh, how weird, I had a feeling like I was unconscious for a long time, I knew I saw something important in this time, but I couldn't remember what.

"What happened?" Sydney asked. She wasn't really comfortable talking to dhampirs. When she only met me, she was always so distance, but somehow we became friends.

"I remember the fight, there were forty Strigoi, they knew 'The Killer' was there, I don't know how. When only the leader was left, we made him compel the humans in the club to forget the fight and dragged him outside." I wrinkle my forehead, trying to remember what happened. "We questioned the Strigoi but he hadn't answered. Then, he threw Denis into a wall and ran." It was all blurry from this point, but I kept talking, trying to recall anything that will help me remember. "I remember fire, and… something dark? I'm not sure."

Then, it all came back to me. How I killed the last Strigoi, how the fire and darkness came out of my hands, and the dream. Especially the dream. I was so confused, how did I do it? What does this dream means? I had so many questions. But, I'll have to deal with it later. I don't have time for this right now.

"So… How many Strigoi did you kill tonight?" Sydney pulled me out of my thoughts. She was all business now.

"I killed twelve, Denis killed eight, and Artur and Lev killed ten each." I hadn't elaborated on how I killed the last Strigoi.

"Well, I'll put every Strigoi on the account of the boys, and your twelve on the account of 'The Killer'." She said.

"Sydney? How is Denis?" I was very worried about him.

"Don't worry Rose, Denis is strong, I'm sure he will be just fine, the nurse told me that when you're up you can go, there is nothing wrong with you, you were just exhausted." She said with a small smile, trying to cheer me up.

"Thanks Sydney, for everything." I was very grateful to Sydney; she had to lie to the Alchemist about my identity, not to mention my father. Who, apparently, was looking for me.

"Did Zmey called again?" I asked. Abe was looking for me, and my other friends too, but I think Abe is suspecting that Sydney knows something, because he keeps calling her.

"Yes, I told him the same as always, that I don't know anything and that if I will he will be the first to know."

"Sydney, I don't know how to thank you for all the things you're doing for me."

She just smiled and hugged me.

"Who would have guessed that you would hug an evil creature of the night?" I teased.

"Shut up, lets go ask the doctor how Denis is." She stopped hugging me and dragged me out of the bed and toward the doctor; all my worries about Denis coming back.

The doctor said that all of Denis's bones on his right side were crushed, and that he will be in cast for a very long time.

At least he isn't in life danger.

The guys and I decided that we will stop hunting Strigois until Denis will heal, he won't forgive us if we'll go hunting without him.

"I guess you'll have a break from work for a little while." I told Sydney while we helped Denis get into the car. We are now in our way to Baia, Denis owns an apartment there of two bedrooms, Artur and Lev will be in one while Denis and I will be in the other.

Lev and Artur's room has two beds, but mine and Denis's room has only one.

When we got to Baia, Artur and Lev got Denis onto our bed while I got into the shower.

After a long and relaxing hour in the shower, I finally warped myself in a towel and entered mine and Denis's to get some cloths out of my bag and get dress when I saw two people standing near Denis.

"_Roza?" _

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**AN: So... Any guesses who is this guest?**

**R&R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys!**

**Thanks for your amazing reviews. We have got to sixty reviews!**

**Sorry it took me so long (long for me) I just started school again on monday.**

**sooooooo I hope you like it.**

**VA is not mine. Yet.**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 5

"Viktoria? What are you doing here?" Viktoria Belikov stood there in the middle of the room, Nicolai, Denis's brother, us standing next to her' they seem… closer than the last time I've seen them, but that was six years ago.

"We heard that Denis was hurt so we came to visit. What are you doing here?" She spoke with unemotional voice, keeping her feelings locked away so I couldn't tell if she is still mad at me about what happened with Rolan.

"It's her bedroom too," Denis answered for me, now awake. "Rose, why don't you get dressed and then unpack your things?"

"Sure." I said, remembering I'm in a towel and dying to get out of the awkwardness in the room.

I took some cloth and practically ran back to the bathroom, but Artur was already there, so I went back into the room, where Nicolai and Viktoria still stood in the middle of the room and said "Um… Artur is in the bathroom now, Nicolai, would you mind waiting outside of the room while I'm getting dressed?"

"No problem." He was out through the door in a second. I think I'm not the only one who wants to get out of this room, too much awkwardness.

I had no problem dressing in front of Denis, four years ago, we even tried dating, we even had sex, but after a while I've decided it wasn't fair to Denis, that I was dating him even though I love another guy. I know Denis didn't mind that, and I know Denis still likes me in a more than brotherly way, but I just don't think about him in the same way.

"So… Rose, Lev told me that if you weren't there, I would be dead, so thanks." Denis said, trying to fill the silence.

"No prob, come everyday." I winked at him, I was now with my bra and panties. I could see Viktoria watching us with curious yet sad expression on her face, I knew that me and Denis are acting like we are dating, and the fact that we were sleeping in the same bed doesn't helps. But I can do nothing about it, Denis's apartment is small and Denis already has seen me naked, so I'm not shy about dressing in front of him.

"I really hope that won't happen every, but if it will you'll be the first I'll call to, I promise." He laughed.

I finished getting dress and let Nicolai back into the room. He walked right toward Viktoria, seating on the chair beside her, holding her hand and squeezing it slightly. I wonder if they are together now.

They stayed for a few more hours, Nicolai and Denis talking to each other and catching out while me and Viktoria just sat there in silence and stared at each other.

After a while I started unpacking my thing, just so I'll have something to do.

When I was finished I looked around, trying to find something else to do and finding none. "Denis babe, you need to take your medicine soon and you need to take it on a full stomach, so I'm going to cook dinner. If you need something, just shout." Denis and I always called each other in nicknames such as 'honey', 'sexy' or 'sweetie', things like that. The guys always told us we are acting like a couple, but it doesn't bother us.

"Sure Rosie, I'll be fine, if I'll need something I'll just ask from Kolya and Vika." It took me a minute to understand that Kolya and Vika are the Russian nicknames to Nicolai and Viktoria; Russian nicknames are so weird! _Vika_ looked astonished at the fact that Denis called me Rosie; she probably remembers the last time she called me that, I used my scary voice and threatened to cheerfully beat her to death if she'll ever call me that again. Denis was the only person alive aloud to call me Rosie; he started calling me that after I told him what happened with Dimitri, I was in a mini panic attack at the time. He just stroked my hair and said "Shh… Rosie, its all goona be okay, calm down." Until I fell asleep. He called me Rosie since that day.

I nodded and pecked him on the cheek. Then I left the room.

I stared out of the window, it was seven p.m. (Moroi time) and the sun was starting to rise, Denis needs to get his painkiller and medicine at eight p.m., so I should really start cooking dinner.

"Do you want some help?" I heard Viktoria from behind me.

"Sure," I told her. "I think it's better if you'll help me because I don't know how to cook, at all." I lied, in the last five years, I've became a really great cook, the downside of living with three boys is that they can't cook. Lev is the worse; I think that he can even ruin water.

"Listen Rose, you know I didn't come here to help you cook, I came to apologize for the Rolan incident; you were right, he really was a jerk."

"Vik-"

"No, let me finish." She cut me. "When I woke up in the morning and saw your room empty and mom crying, I didn't know what to think. When mom told me you left without even leaving a note, she had to shove me out of the house so I'll go to school." She paused for a moment. "I'm so sorry Rose, I know you left because of what I told you, and I didn't mean it, you're my sister and I love you. Can you please forgive me? I've missed you." I saw remorse and guilt in her eyes, and I instantly felt bad.

"Viktoria, I hadn't left because of what you told me." I said, trying to ease up her guilt.

"You didn't?" She had a little light in her eyes. "Then why did you leave?" She asked, looking hurt.

"I had a deal with Abe, that if he will scare Rolan off of you, I'll leave Baia." I told her half of the truth, I couldn't tell her I left to kill her brother, _and_ failed. At least I've done something better.

At this moment I suddenly realized that no one told the Belikovs that Dimitri isn't Strigoi anymore.

"What happened with Rolan was the stupidest mistake I've ever made. Thank god you were there. I'm now going out with Nicolai, I should have listened to you before, he really cheered me up when I was upset and I really love him." She said, blushing slightly.

"I knew you'll be together!" I exclaimed. "I'm really happy for you, is that why you came here to visit Denis?" I asked. It wasn't really a shocker that Nicolai and Viktoria are together, I always knew he liked her, and I can see now she truly loves him, he's good for her. Kinda reminds me of Mason.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have even known if I wasn't with Nicolai when Artur called. So… What happened since I last saw you?" She asked, grinning wildly.

"Viktoria… I need to talk to all of your family; I now just realize no one told you. It's about Dimitri." I grimaced when I said his name, it's still hurts to talk about what happened. But I knew I'll have to tell them all that has happened since I left their house.

"Roza, I know Dimitri isn't Strigoi anymore."

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	6. Chapter 6

**So... Another chapter done! **

**Sorry for taking so long, I was busy planning world domination.**

**Thank you all for your amazing reviews!**

**Tell me what you think!**

**I've threaten RM that if she doesn't give me Dimitri I'll dye her hair pink. She said YES!**

**Actually, she said she likes pink and that she was planning on doing it herself.**

**

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****Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 6

I was shocked, who would have told them? I ran the possibilities in my head and found no one that would fly all the way to Russia just to tell the Belikovs Dimitri isn't Strigoi anymore. And no one will tell them that on the phone, that's just cruel.

"H-how do you know that?" I asked, my mouth still hanging open.

"Five years ago, Dimka came to our house. I was there alone, I came back home from school the day before he came and was tired so I stayed home while the others went out. When I first saw him, I was sure he was still a Strigoi, I tried to stake him," Wait, Dimitri told them? He was here? I can't believe I hadn't thought about it! Of course he would want to see his family again. "I didn't care that he was standing in the sun, and I didn't care his eyes wasn't red, I was sure it was some strigoi trick. He took my stake from me and he didn't even flinch. That's when I really noticed everything. Strigoi can't stand in the sun and they can't wear contacts. **(AN: Well, in my story they can't.) **So I've let him explain. He told me what Lissa had done and I still didn't believe him and asked him to come back when the whole family is home, so they could decide themselves if he is Strigoi or not." She waited a little before she continued, letting me grasp the information.

"He came back the next day. I told the family what had happened when they were gone and we all waited for him. When he knocked on the door, Babushka ran to it, she hugged him immediately, telling him she waited for a long time to come home. Then she slapped him-"

"Why would Yeva slap him?"

"I don't know. She didn't agree to tell us, she whispered something in his ear and came back to her seat. Babushka told us he wasn't a Strigoi anymore and that if a spirit user like Lissa or Oskana infuses a stake and stakes a Strigoi, the Strigoi will go back to what he was before. "Then Dimka told us everything that had happened, I'm so sorry for everything he had done to you as a Strigoi Rose, but you should forgive him, he couldn't have helped it. He still loves you, I know he is; he even mumble your name in his sleep."

"What? Did Dimitri lie to his family? Hadn't he told them what happened _after_ he was turned back into a dhampir?

"Umm… Viktoria? What _exactly_ did Dimitri tell you?" I forgot about dinner in the minute Viktoria walked into the kitchen, I just stood in the middle of the room, talking to her.

"He told us what had happened after he captured you in Novosibirsk and when Lissa saved him," So he told them Lissa saved him? "He told us that the royal Moroi didn't believe him and had guardians watching him."

"And…" I wanted to know what he had told his family about me.

At this moment Nicolai walked into the kitchen. "Vika, it's getting kinda late and I'm sure your mother is worried. I think it's better if we will leave now and let Rose and the guys get some sleep."

"I didn't want Viktoria to leave yet, I wanted to know what Dimitri had told his family what I'd done for him and why we are not together anymore. But I was really tired and much more hungry. And it was getting pretty late. "Why don't you come tomorrow morning?" I asked them both. "I want to talk to Viktoria about some stuff and I _know_ Denis will be happy if you will come again Nicolai."

"No problem, but there is one condition." Viktoria said with a smile on her face.

"What is it?" I was a little worried now, I know how Viktorias mind work and it's not good. She is a lot like me, just with a little less smartass comments.

"Call me Vika, Viktoria is too long." I sighed a sigh of relief. That was not bad at all.

"Okay Vika, can you do me a favor in return?" Now she was the one worried.

"Umm… that depends on what it is. What do you want me to do?"

"Don't tell your family I'm here yet, okay? I need you to tell me some things tomorrow first."

"Okay, but only until tomorrow, I can't keep this to myself for long. We will come in the morning. Bye Rose."

"Bye Vika, love you."

"Love you too."

After I had finished cooking dinner, the guys and I each ate a huge amount of food. I've become a really great cooker since I came to live with the boys, which is a good thing because Denis, Lev and Artur can't cook even if their life depends on it. **(AN: I know I've already written it last chapter, but I originally planned on writing it here and forgot about it when I wrote chapter five.)**

After everyone were full and sleepy, each went to his bed to catch some well needed sleep. When I walked into mine and Denis's room I saw Denis fast asleep. He ate in our room because it will be very stupid if we will drag him out of bed just so he could eat with us. His cast was so big that there was no place on the bed for another person to slap on it, so I took a pillow and a blanket and tried to sleep on the couch in the living room. Key word is _tried._

I lied on the couch for hours, trying to fall asleep but the things Viktoria told me kept me awake. Had Dimitri really lied to his family and told them I didn't want him? Hadn't he told them what I had done for him? Why would he do that? I accepted years ago that Dimitri doesn't love me, and that I need to let him go. That's why I hadn't looked for him. I have no doubt that its true. His words "Love fades. Mine has." Kept echoing in my head for all those years. They hunted me in my dreams.

Why had Viktoria said he loves me? That he mumbles my name in his sleep? He stopped loving me at the moment he was turned Strigoi. Maybe even sooner and I just didn't notice.


	7. Chapter 7 part one

**Hi guys!**

**A short chapter this time I just had to go and I need to check part two before I'll update it.**

**I've got a review about my spelling mistakes. I'll try working on it but I don't promise anything.**

**I leave in Israel and we don't speak English at home, we just learn it at school so I can't say I'm perfect in speaking and writing English.**

**Hope you can deal with my mistakes and still enjoy the story =p**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 7 part one

I woke up to the sound of talking near the couch I was sleeping on.

"It doesn't look very comfortable sleeping on this couch, maybe we should wake her up and move her to one of your beds." I heard a voice that I recognized as Vika's.

"Are you crazy? She is very mean when someone wakes her up, one time I accidently woke her up and she tortured me for days. I was her slave for weeks before she forgave me." I heard Denis say. I remember this time, Denis and I were sharing a bed in one of the big cities in Russia, when he woke up and got up to take a shower, he lost his balance and fell on me while I was still asleep, I think it's useless to say that I was very pissed at him. He still shakes when someone mention foot massage and piggy bag.

"So why do you wake me up again? Hadn't learned your lesson yet? I have to warn you, I won't fell sorry for you just because you are in cast." I asked in the most annoyed voice I have this early in the morning. Threatening people is fun.

"Oh, Rose I'm so sorry," he immediately apologizes. "But it's already six A.M. (moroi time) and you always wakes up at four."

"What?" That waked me up a little. "It's already six?"

"Why do six is so late? I usually get up at seven when I don't have a guard duty. I'm working with Nicolai in the academy, teaching combat." Vika said.

"I usually get up to run before it's dark, so if a bunch of Strigoi finds me, I wont be there alone without the guys." I told her, still half asleep.

"Listen Rose, because we are in the human time in Baia it is now noon and I need to be back home in two hours because it is Rosalie fifth birthday." Viktoria said.

"Rosalie?"

"Sonya's daughter, she named her after you."

"Really? That's so nice of her. What about Karolina? Did she have a boy or a girl?"

"Boy, his birthday is tomorrow. She named him Gabriel Rose Belikov."

I had tears in my eyes; both Sonya and Karolina called their kids after me.

"Vika, why don't you wait here while I'll go and get dress and then we can talk."

"Sure Roza, take your time."

After I had finished getting dress, I packed a bag with food for two people and told Vika that we can talk in the park in front of Denis's apartment.

"Okay Vika, I want you to tell me exactly what Dimitri told you and don't skip on anything." I said, suddenly nervous of what I'm going to hear. I hadn't heard about Dimitri for the last five years, I hadn't even gone into Lissa's head for more than a second because I was too crushed from the fact that he left.

"Okay Roza. So, like I told you, Dimka came back to our house when I was alone at home and…"

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**Ha! A cliff hanger just for you! **

**I'm sorry its so short and that nothing really happens in this chapter but it was necessary.**

**I already have part two ready and I'll update when I'll have 100 reviews!**

**Yeah, I know I mean. It runs through the family.**

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	8. Chapter 7 part two

**Hi guys!**

**I hope you'll enjoy it because it was very hard to write and I now have the worse freaking headach ever!**

**Thank you all for your amazing reviews! You'll keep writing reviews and I'll keep writing chapters.**

**P.S.**

**In last chapter's AN I wrote "I leave" instead of "I live" I don't want you to think I'm dumber than what I am so I want you to know I know the differences between "leave" and "live"**

**Love you all!**

**Tal =] **

**

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****Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 7 part two

***_* FLASHBACK VPOV *_***

Nicolai finally decided to ask me out! It took him so long that I thought about asking him myself.

I guess I can't blame him after I ditched him to go out with that jerk Rolan. I should have gone to the party with Nicolai. That way this whole mess with Rose wouldn't have happen. She was just trying to help me and I told her all of those mean things.

Even if mom says it's not my fault, I know it is. If I hadn't said all those things, Roza would have stayed with us instead of leaving; maybe she would have even come back to school with me.

_Knock… Knock… Knock…_

Who the hell is knocking on the door?

Every other day, I would have thought it is Abe Mazur. Ever since Rose left he came to our house every few weeks, checking we are all well and if we need something he can get. H says he would do anything for Rose and her family.

He really did take care of us; he was even present when Karolina gave birth to Gabriel.

I still have no idea why he is so obsessed with Rose, it's kinda creepy.

But it can't be Abe; he said he has business at court he has to attend.

I open the door and step outside, there is no one here.

"Hello? Is somebody out here?" I call.

"Viktoria." Says a familiar voice.

It can't be him, he is a Strigoi and there is still daylight outside.

But it is him; I can see him, standing by the bushes.

So I attack him. Big brother or not, he is still a strigoi. I don't care if he can stand in the sun now. He is an evil creature that must be destroyed. The real Dimitri would thank me for that.

I've never seen a Strigoi before, but I know they can't stand in the sun, they have red in their eyes and they can't touch stakes. The fact that Dimitri can stand in the sun _and_ that it seems like he doesn't have a hint of red in his eyes. I just hope a stake will work on him.

Good thing I stole a stake from the Academy a long time ago and I always carry it with me.

I a matter of seconds, my stake was in his hands. He didn't even flinch.

What kind of a Strigoi is he? That can stand in the sun and touch stakes? Even his eyes are his normal brown, and not red.

Could it be that Rose has lied to us?

No, she wouldn't have done that, why would she? Maybe she was wrong, maybe she thought he was turned but he wasn't really? But she said she saw the Strigoi drain him.

How can that be?

"Listen Vika, I'm not going to hurt you, I'm not a Strigoi anymore. Just let me explain." He says.

I just can't understand that, if he isn't a Strigoi _anymore_, that means he _was_ a Strigoi. Can that be even possible?

"What. Are. You?" I growl at him.

"I'm a Dhampir." Dimitri sighs.

"But you _were_ a Strigoi. Correct?" I still don't believe him.

"Yes. I was turned back by Vasilisa Dragomir."

What? How dumb does he thinks I am? _Turned back?_ How can you be turned back from being a Strigoi?

"How?" I have no more patience. Maybe if I'll jump at him while he talks, I can get my stake back. But how can a stake help me against him? The stake doesn't work on him.

"If a spirit user stakes a Strigoi with a spirit infused stake, the Strigoi turns back to his original form." Wait, Rose said something about her best friend being a spirit user, and her being shadow kissed.

"Are you talking about Roza's best friend?" Dimitri flinched when I said Roza's name.

"Yes, that's the one." Dimka looks like somebody stabbed him in the guts.

"So if you are a Dhampir again, why doesn't Roza here with you?" If Rose's best friend saved Dimka, then Rose must have something to do with it.

Dimka looks hesitant, like he is debating if he should say something.

"I've… Found Rose when I was still a Strigoi… And I'd done some terrible things…" He looked ashamed. He shouldn't. I have no idea of what he had done, but he was a Strigoi and he couldn't have helped it.

After his explanation about the spirit thing and the pain I can see in his eyes for Roza rejecting him, I have no doubt he is a Dhampir again.

"But Roza shouldn't leave you because of that, you were a Strigoi, you couldn't help it."

Dimitri has a sad smile on his lips. "I've heard that already." He says. I can see that he is hiding something from me, that he is not telling me everything, but I won't force him to tell me. If he wants to tell me what happened with Roza, he will.

I sort of dislike Roza (I could never hate her) for making my brother suffer for something he had no control on, but I can't force her to get back together with him.

No matter what, even if Roza isn't with Dimka, She will always be my sister.

"Dimka, I believe you. But I need to talk with mom, babushka, Sonya and Karolina before I'll let you in. Karolina and Sonya are very protective of their children-"

"Children?"

"Sonya has a girl named Rosalie Liza and Karolina has a boy named Gabriel Rose. Anyway, if they'll think you are Strigoi… Well, they will attack and I don't think it's necessary. Can you come back tomorrow at the same hour?" I just think of the reactions Sonya and Karolina will have and I shudder. Sometimes I think the pregnancy hormones hadn't left their bodies yet.

"Umm… Sure, I'll see you tomorrow Vika." I don't know if to hug him of shake his hand, it's so weird. The brother you thought that was worse than dead was back in your life, how will you welcome him?

We ended up hugging awkwardly for a few seconds.

"Seeya Dimka, I'm really glad you are back." I wave my hand while he starts walking away.

"Bye Vika, I'm glad to be home."

***_* END OF FLASHBACK STILL VPOV *_***

I look at Rose, she looks shocked. "Rose? Do you want me to stop? You don't look very good."

"No, no. It's just hard to get it all in. Just keep telling me what had happen, I'm fine."

"Okay. So the day after…"

***_* FLASHBACK STILL VPOV *_***

Dimitri should come in a few minutes. Mom is seating still in her seat, trying to calm herself.

Sonya and Karolina are holding their babies in their hands and Karolina told Paul to stay close to her and be careful until she says it's okay.

_Knock… Knock… Knock…_

"I'll open the door, you just stay here." Babushka says. She walks quickly (for an old lady) toward the door and open it.

A few seconds of silence pass and then we hear a slap.

"How could you do this to her?" I hear grandma shouts. "And then you blame her! What you did is unforgivable! You are both suffering just because of your own stupidity! After all the things she had done for you!"

"I'm sorry Babushka, I had to."

What the hell are they talking about?

The rest of the family face's look confuses. I guess I'm not the only one that doesn't understand this.

Now Dimka and grandma come into the living room hugged. Grandma's hand print is bright red on Dimka's cheek.

"Dimka!" I call and run to hug him too, I got over the awkwardness and I really missed him all this time he was gone.

"Hi Vika." He says.

"Dimka," Mom whispers.

"Mom," Dimitri takes a deep breath. "I hope Vika told you what happened." He looks at me, questions in his eyes.

"She did." Sonya says, holding Rosalie in her hands.

"Good, so you know what had happen. Do you believe me?"

"We do. Babushka even dreamed it. We believe you completely." Mom answered him. I see Sonya and Karolina are slowly starting to lose their fear.

"Dimka, can you explain us how did you turn Dhampir again? Vika tried to but we didn't understand a thing." Karolina started talking now too. I see they all started warming up to the idea of having Dimitri back in the house.

"Yes, of course. You see, if a spirit user, such as Vasilisa Dragomir, infuses a stake with spirit and stake a Strigoi. The Strigoi will turn back to his old form instead of dying."

"And why would Vasilisa do that? I mean, I thought Rose would be the one-"

"Rose has nothing to do with it." Dimka had cut mom in the middle of het sentence. "I was supposed to be Vasilisa's guardian. I kidnapped her to be bait for Rose and she staked me with a spirit infused stake during the fight." Dimitri looks pained.

"You kidnapped her?"

"To be bait for Rose?"

"Yes, after I've… captured Rose, she ran away and I'd told her I'll follow her until I'll… kill her." Dimitri's face twisted when he said those words.

"Dimka, what had happened with Rose? Vika told us you aren't together, why?"

Dimka takes deep breathes, preparing himself for a hard story. "After Rose left Baia, she had gone hunting Strigoi in Novosibirsk, She tortured Strigoi until she was sure they didn't know me and then killed them. Then she met a Strigoi that did know me. She told him to tell me that Rose Hathaway is looking for me and she had let him go."

"What? She told a Strigoi her name after she tortured him and then left him alive? And all to find you?" Karolina exclaimed.

"That is pretty stupid." Sonya added.

"Anyway, I found her in Novosibirsk and kidnapped her. I've locked her in a hotel-like room with no escape option. She got food and had a TV, clothes and jewelries. I came to her room twice a day and tried to convince her to let me turn her into a Strigoi." Dimitri stopped for a moment. Letting us understand what he had just said. "That's not the worse part. I-I-I used her as a blood whore." Five gasps were sounded in the room, mine included, and then the room turned silent.

Dimka puts his head in his hands and keep telling us what had happened. "I told her that if she wouldn't decide in two days, I'll turn her no matter what and left her to think about it.  
She had made a stake from a leg of a wooden chair and told me she was willing to be turned. She asked me all those stupid questions about being a Strigoi and then staked me. I was stunned for five minutes.  
When I woke up again I found her in the library fighting my boss, Galina.-"

"You had a mentor named Galina." Mom said, cutting Dimitri from his horrible memories.

He lifted his head. My heart broke when I saw all the agony in his eyes. "That's the same Galina. She was turned after I graduated."

"So I took Galina off of Rose and Rose staked her and ran away. I had to fight three other Strigoi.  
When I was finish with them and got to her, we started fighting. She was hurt and still dizzy from the blood loss. But she was good. We got to a river with a bridge. Rose released her ghosts on me but I think it had hurt her too because she stopped.  
She staked me on the bridge and I fell to the river. The stake didn't get to my heart so I stayed… immortal. After I fell Rose left, she thought I was dead.  
I'd send her a letter says I'll follow her until I'll kill her and I'd send her her stake back, as a souvenir.  
We had encountered a couple of times, until I kidnapped Lissa and her boyfriend Christian to be bait for Rose and Lissa staked me." Silence fell on the house, nobody talked for a few minutes.

"Dimka, it's not your fault, Rose should know that." Mom says.

Dimitri just stays in silence.

"So, you'll get you old room back-"

"Mom, that's really not necessary, I cam live in a motel…"

"You sleep here. Dinner is in an hour."

***_* END OF FLASHBACK STILL VPOV *_***

I stayed in silence for a few second, waiting for a reaction from Rose. I should really start heading home if I don't want mom to be mad.

"Umm… Rose? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Umm… Did what Dimitri told us true? About what had happened between the two of you?"

She looked hesitated, like she is considering what to tell me. "Yes." She said.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Oh Rose I'm so sorry you had to go through it! But you know it wasn't his fault, right?"

"Yes, I know it. I think we should head back now."

"We really should." I had a feeling she was trying to change the subject.

"Rose, would you come with me to Rosalie's party today? I don't think I can hold it another day. And I think grandma already knows."

"Do you think it will bother Dimitri?"

_Yes, you broke his heart!_ "No, he is a grown man and it was five years ago. You should come."

"Fine, I will."

"Yay!"


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi guys!**

**Another chapter is done, I'm so happy!**

**Thank you sooooooooooo much for your amazing reviews.**

_Nicole Rain-_** As for your question, Dimitri lied to his family because he was ashamed of what he had done to Rose after all the thing she had done for him and because he knew that if he will tell them the truth they will be furious at him and won't let it go until he will fix it. It was just easier for him to lie to them than face his family's fury at him.**

**Hope this helps and keep reviewing!**

**Tal!**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 8

***_* RPOV *_***

I am nervous. I am very nervous.

I don't know what I should tell the Belikovs, they will probably hate me because they think I rejected Dimitri, and not the other way around.

I know that lying to Vika about what happened with Dimitri and tell her he was telling the truth wasn't the smartest thing ever. At least Yeva knows the truth.

I just thing it will be cruel if I'll come into Dimitri's house and will tell his family he had lied to them in the last five years.

Don't get me wrong, Dimitri is going to pay about blaming this on me, but I need to do this in my own way. From my personal experience, there is no better way torturing someone than playing innocent and helping him. The fact that he doesn't knows what I'm planning will drive him crazy. I used to do it to Mason when we were little, I was mad at him so I was too nice to him. It drove him crazy until he got a nervous attack and he started screaming at Alberta that I'm after him and that he needs to move to Japan.

The walk to the Belikovs house is silent. Vika and Nicolai are walking together, holding hands, and I am walking a little behind them, deep in thoughts.

"We are here." Vika says, pulling me out of my thoughts, I was thinking about Dimitri, obviously.

"Vika, maybe I should come another day, it's Rosalie's birthday and I don't even know her. I don't want to ruin her party." I really scared now. I, 'The Killer', am terrified from a birthday party of a five years old girl that was named after me.

"You won't ruin her party. You are going to come in with us and make this birthday perfect. Rosalie and Gabriel always wanted to meet their Auntie Rosie. Paul hadn't stopped talking about you, too."

Okay, I can do this. I'll just walk into that house and will see the love of my life I hadn't seen in five years and my family I hadn't seen in six years. Piece of cake. Not!

Deep breaths Rose, you can do this.

"Mom? We are home." Vika calls.

"Vika where have you been all day? You said you are going out with Nicolai for a couple of hours and you come back now? Where have you been?" Olena says. She walks out of the kitchen with a cake un her hands. That's when she sees me.

"Roza? Is that really you?" The cake is slipping from her hands and heads to the floor. In a second I was next to her, holding the cake in my hands before it will hit the floor. I have no idea how I've got there so fast, considering I was twenty meters away from her.

"Hoe did you get there so fast? It was faster than a Strigoi." Vika looks astonish. Nicolai looks surprise too.

"I have no idea. I guess those runs do help."

"That doesn't matter." Olena says, getting over her shock. "What are you doing here? I mean, shouldn't you be at court?"

"I left court five years ago."

I think Olena finally realize I'm actually here, 'cause she jumps at me and hugs me tightly, it's kind of half hug because I still have the cake in my hands. "Oh Rose! I've missed you so much!" She keeps hugging me until Sonya enters the room.

"Mom, Why is bringing the cake takes so long and Karolina- Rose?"

"Ouch Sonya, can you scream a little louder? I don't think the people in Australia heard you." Sonya can scream very loud when she wants to. Believe me I know.

"Rose is it really you?"

"Of course it's really me. Who else will I be?"

"Oh Rose! How could you leave us without even leaving a note? You mean, mean girl."

I'm so sorry Sonya, I just had to go." Now I feel guilty, I should have left a note.

"It's okay Roza, what matters is that you are here now and you're not leaving anytime soon, right?"

"Don't worry Sonya, I won't leave until Denis will heal and it will take some time considering he crushed all the bones in his right side."

"Denis? As in Nicolai's brother?" Olena ask.

"Yup." I answer her, pooping the 'p'.

"Mom! Come on we need to start!" Karolina calls from the living room.

I mouth everyone to be quiet and say loud enough so Karolina could hear me. "Missed you too sis." I know this sentence will get her here in a second. I always told her that when she didn't welcome me when I had came back home from being out of the house for a long time.

And I am right, in a second, she stands at the front of the room, staring at me. No, staring is not the right word, Karolina is _glaring_ at me. "Rose? What the fuck are you doing here?" She is angry at me. That's not the reaction I've expected from her, I was sure she would jump at me like Sonya and Olena. Usually Karolina is the forgiving one while Sonya is the one that holds grudge, so I don't understand why Sonya would forgive me for leaving without saying anything and Karolina won't.

And then, My Russian god and his grandmother come unto the room. Dimitri looks kinda depressed, like he needs some serious sleep and some good food. I wonder what happened.

At the minute Dimitri sees me he puts his guardian mask on his face, leaving no clue about his feelings. I really hate that mask.

I move my attention to Karolina and Yeva. Karolina is still glaring at me while Yeva is smiling brightly, not surprised at all, I guess she did know like Vika told me.

"Honey what's wrong? Aren't you happy that Rose is here?" Olena asks Karolina. I still don't understand why she is so mad at me. From the confused faces around me I can see that the rest of the family doesn't understand either. Just Dimitri's face stays the same stoic mask they were at the moment he walked into the room and saw me.

"What's wrong? She broke my brother's heart and then she thinks she can come here whenever she wants?" Realization downs on Dimitri's face, and then his face is full with shame. He probably thinks I'll tell his family the truth. Well, he is up to a surprise.

"You're right Karolina, I'm so sorry."

Indeed, pure shock cross Dimitri's face before he puts his guardian mask again. From the corner of my eye I can see that Yeva's mouth is actually hanging open. I guess she didn't see that in her dream.

"Don't apologize to me, I'm not the one who was and still is hurt." Karolina barks. I can see that Dimitri is very embarrassed from her words.

"Karolina! That's enough! Rose is family and always will be. You'll treat your family with respect." Olena says. "That's not how I raised you."

"No Olena, Karolina is right. What I did to Dimitri was very wrong and he didn't deserve it." I now turn toward Dimitri, talking directly to him in the first time in the last five years. "Dimitri, I'm so sorry, I can't even describe how sorry I am. Can you understand why I've dine it? Why I had to? Could you ever forgive me?" I ask him in my most innocent voice, looking right into his beautiful eyes. I don't want to make Dimitri suffer, and this is why I'm not telling his family the truth. I could never hurt him like that. I know that the fact I'm covering his story will probably drive him crazy, but that's not my point, that's just a bonus.

Dimitri lowers his gaze to the floor and nods curtly, avoiding my eyes.

Karolina looks content. "Can you please hug me now? Or is it too much to ask?" I ask her.

It wasn't too much to ask, because in a second, I was tackle on the ground. "Of course! I've missed you so much!"

"Good, now I want to see my two new nephews that are called after the greatest person in the whole world and my old nephew that his day can't be perfect without hearing me complaining about carrying a box full of garden bricks after a hang-over. So get off me you crazy Dhampir!" I say. I can't wait to see again Paul and to meet Rosalie and Gabriel.

All the Belikovs except Dimitri (Nicolai had left after Sonya had found me) starts laughing about the old memories of me dragged out of the house by Yeva and Paul after a hang-over. I guess nobody told him what had happened when I lived here. "Yeva dragged me to Mark and Oksana's house in the early morning after I drank more than ten glasses of Russian vodka the night before. She told me to carry a huge box full of garden bricks for Mark and she used Paul as her translator because she pretended she doesn't speak English." I explain to him. We all burst in laughter again after I said that. Dimitri is still avoiding my eyes and it was starting to piss me off.

"Paul, Gabriel, Rosalie. Come here we have a guest." Karolina calls between fits of giggles.

Three sets of feet are running toward us. The kids stop running when they see me. Rosalie and Gabriel don't know who I am, but Paul does.

"Auntie Rose!" Paul calls and run toward me, hugging me with all his strength.

"That's Aunt Rose?" Rosalie asks in the cutest voice I've ever heard.

"Yes I am." I get on my knees so I can be on the same eye level with Rosalie. "You three are the only ones I'll allow to call me Auntie Rosie. So consider yourself honored."

"That's not true, Denis calls you Rosie too." Vika says.

"Well, Denis and the kids are the only ones allowed to call me Rosie. Everyone else that will call me that will be six feet under." I was hoping Vika won't mention Denis in front of Dimitri. No such luck.

I know Denis and I look like a couple, but we are not. And I know that Vika thinks we are, everyone thinks we are a couple. Even Lev and Artur thinks we are secretly dating.

Suddenly Gabriel come and hugs me. "You are very nice." He says in my ear. He and Rosalie both have the cutest voice ever.

"You are very nice too." I hug him back. Paul and Rosalie come and join our hug.

"Okay, let's get this party started." I say as I lift all three kids in my hands.

Paul is already eleven years old and both Rosalie and Gabriel are five years old, lifting them shouldn't be easy, but it is. It's like I can't feel their weight, like lifting a kilo of rice, not three kids that probably weight more than me when their weight is put together.

I'll have to check my new speed and strength later, I've also notice my hearing, smelling and eyesight is better now.

The cake is already on the table, I guess Olena took it from me before I was tackle by Karolina and I just didn't notice until now.

After the three kids are back on their legs, Yeva comes to where I stand, she hugs me and whispers in my ear "We will talk about this later."

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**I'll update the next chapter when I'll see I have at least 160 reviews. I know you can do this!**

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	10. Chapter 9

**Hi guys!**

**We now have 172 reviews and I'm so proud of you! I know you think I'm mean but I do this only so I could see how many of you like the story.**

**Don't worry, I won't ask for reviews every chapter, just when I feel like the chapter deserves a lot of reviews.**

**I hope you like this chapter and I have to say that next chapter will be a fun chapter to write!**

**love you all!**

**Tal!**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 9

The party is great, everyone is talking and laughing. I mostly just stand in the corner, looking at my family; sometimes I talk with Olena, Sonya, Karolina and Viktoria. Yeva and Dimitri are talking between them most of the time, but every few minutes I can see them sneaking glance at my direction.

Gabriel and Rosalie have fell asleep with their heads on my legs and their bodies on the couch, nobody want to wake them up by talking next to me so I am left alone to my own thoughts.

I'm looking at the two members of my family, I just met them today and I've already fell in love with them. Rosalie has two shoulder length blond braids and green eyes. She reminds me of Lissa when we were little. Gabriel has a short brown hair and brown eyes; he looks like Paul five years ago. When I first saw Paul today I was shocked, when I remembered him he was still the little kid running around the house, he wasn't so tall. I can see that when Paul and Gabriel will be older, they will look just like Dimitri.

_Knock… Knock… Knock…_

"Who is it? Are you expecting someone?" I whisper so I won't wake up the kids.

"You can talk Rose; they won't wake up unless you'll put them an ice cube in their shirts. That's probably Abe, he said he might come." Olena says.

"Do you mean Abe Mazur?" I ask. I've missed Zmey so much.

"Yes. Why? Is that a problem? I know he bugged you when you lived here but Zmey isn't as bad as people tell."

"No! That's not a problem at all. On the contrary, I've missed him so much. I hadn't seen him since I left court. Can I go open the door?

"Sure, just make sure he doesn't get a heart attack."

"Don't worry; the old man is stronger than this."

I run to the door and rip it out of my way. Before Zmey could even see who opened the door, he was in my hug.

"Old man! I've missed you so much!" I call.

"Rose? Kiz is that you?" His voice is full of shock.

"Why does everyone keeps asking me that? Yes, that's really me." I've heard that question at least three times today.

"Sorry Kiz, but what are you doing here?"

"I've heard that question already too. You should think of more original questions old man."

"Don't talks to me like that little girl. I've been really worried."

"Did Zmey just say he was worried? Someone call the devil I think hell just froze." I tease.

"Be quiet. Let's go, I want to see the birthday girl."

"Zmey, you come here at 11 p.m. and thinks a five year old will be still awake?"

"That's the earliest hour I could come. The road to Baia is full of Strigoi at night and I had to get more guardians than ever so they wouldn't attack us. The guardians are now going back to their houses."

"Oh, then I guess its okay for you to come so late. Now let's get back before Olena thinks I gave you a heart attack."

We walk unto the room and seat on the couch, Rosalie next to me and Gabriel next to Abe. Abe greets the Blikovs and the room fall silent.

"Umm… Rose, if you don't mind me asking, what is your relationship with Abe? 'Because the last time we saw you, he wasn't your favorite person in the whole world." Vika asks. I was sure Abe told them

I am his daughter, I mean; he must come here sometimes if he came to Rosalie's birthday party.

"Hadn't Abe told you?" I look at Abe, fake hurt in my voice. "Are you ashamed of me old man? I'm hurt."

"Stop the act little girl, I know you're not hurt. I just didn't know if you wanted everyone to know I'm your father."

"What? You're Zmey's daughter? No wonder you're so scary." Vika pips. I start laughing so hard it hurts my face; Abe joins me and soon all the family is on the floor laughing.

We forgot about the kids and accidently woke them up. "Why are all of you laughing?" Gabriel asks.

I was about to answer him when I fell the nausea.

"Kiz is everything okay? You don't look good." Abe says.

"Strigoi." I answer. "Lots of them."

"What? Why would Strigois come here? There is only one Moroi in this house." You can see that Olena is very worried.

I have six stakes in the garter under my skirt; I take them out and hold them in my hands. Dimitri and Viktoria already have their stakes in their hands. "I don't know why they are here, but we need to be ready incase they decide to enter our house." I give two stakes to Karolina and Sonya. "Don't leave your kids for a second." I say to them. I just can't imagine what I'll do if something will happen to this family.

"Vika, do you have another stake in the house? I need it." I've learned how to attack with two stakes but I need to give everyone stakes incase a Strigoi gets too close.

Dimitri pulls another stake from his pocket and gives it to me, not saying a word. Vika runs to the kitchen and get back with another one.

"Good, give the stake to Olena." I tell her as I give Dimitri's stake to Abe.

"Old man, don't try to be a hero, you'll use this stake _only_ if a Strigoi gets too close to you. Understand?" Abe just nods, even he doesn't have a sarcastic remark right now.

I give another stake to Yeva. "Yeva and Olena, the same thing I told to Abe applies to you too. You use it just as a defense incase a Strigoi gets through Dimitri, Vika and I."

"There are close to sixty out there, Dimitri and Vika, you'll fight only if a Strigoi gets past me, don't join my fights."

"No Roza." Vika says. "How can you fight sixty Strigois by yourself, you have to let us help."

"Don't worry Vika, I can do this." Actually, I have no doubt I can't fight and win sixty Strigois. But I'll try. I won't let my family to get hurt.

I stand in front of my family, two stakes in my hands and another one in my garter, incase I'll lose one stake during the fight.

Dimitri and Vika are standing behind me in defensive stance and the rest of the family are behind them.

_Boom_

The door flew open and Strigoi started getting into the house.

"Give us what we want and we will leave you unharmed." A Strigoi says.

"And what is it that you want?" I ask. If they'll say they want 'The Killer', I'll go without thinking twice. I won't let my family get hurt because of me.

"We want…"

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**Ah... A cliff hanger! Please don't hate me I promise I'll update as fast as I can.**

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	11. Chapter 10

**Hi guys!**

**You have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter but I hope you like it.**

Silksmybaby - **For some reason, I can't reply to your review so I'll do it here. I don't have beta but since it takes me long to update (for me a day to write a chapter is long). I don't think I'll get a beta right now. But thanks for the offer! I promise that at the moment I'll want a beta, I'll send you a message.**

**Hope you'll enjoy this chapter.**

**Love you all!**

**Tal =]**

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Bad always leads to good

Chapter 10

"We want Dimitri Belikov." The Strigoi says. I was sure he wanted 'The Killer' and I had no problem going with him as long as my family stays safe. But Dimitri? He will not touch my Dimitri.

"Over my dead body." I growl.

"That can be arrange. Now move you idiot girl."

"Bite me." This Strigoi is going to die even if it's the last thing I'll do. Dimitri will stay safe.

"With pleasure." He smiles the most disgusting smile I've ever seen.

That's when the fight begins.

I'm doing my best to not let any Strigoi move past me but it's taking a lot of energy from me to fight five Strigoi _and_ keep the other Strigois away from my family.

Right now I'm focusing on killing the one who spoke before. He is clearly the leader. "You're good." He says to me.

"I know." I replay.

"But you're not as good as I am." He tries to confuse me. Well, it's not going to work.

"Wonna bet?" I ask.

"The winner stays alive." He suggests. If he really thinks that _that_ will distract me he is dumber that I thought.

"Deal."

That conversation happens while fighting him and kicking away every Strigoi that tries to come close.

"I would suggest you to just give me Belikov now, you Dhampir can't kill me, I killed 'The killer'. Do you really think you can beat me?"

"Liar." I growl at him. "'The Killer' is living and breathing. That's really pathetic to fabricate things so you could try to scare me."

"Why do you think I didn't kill him?" He asks. Although we are fighting, it's not bothering me to talk.

"Because you said you killed _him_ and 'The Killer' is a girl. Besides, I know for a fact she is still alive." I know it's very stupid to tell this Strigoi that 'The Killer' is a girl but I just have to distract him. Besides, this Strigoi will not be breathing for long.

"And how do you know that?" He asks.

"I have my sources."

"Well, I'm tired of this game." He says. "Alexander."

A Strigoi who I guess names Alexander runs full speed toward my family.

"Vika! Dimitri!" I call. "Catch him."

But the Strigoi has already passed them before they could even see him. Like in a slow motion I see the Strigoi grabs Rosalie and bites her.

"No!" I call. They have to pay, they all have to pay. "You didn't!" I growl at the Strigoi.

Darkness comes out of my hands once again. Its scares me to death when I see that the darkness had come again.

Well, at least those bastards will pay for hurting my family.

Like last time, I sent the darkness to the Strigois and they start flowing in air. The darkness leads the Strigois to the back yard, where no one could see us. I throw the Strigois to the ground and say "You will pay." The Strigois look scared, probably because I just made them flow in the air.

"What are you?" The leader, the one I fought, asks.

"I'm your worse nightmare." The Strigoi visibly gulped. I heard that sentence in a movie I saw, I personally think it's kind of dumb to say something like this, but it's very fun to scare the Strigois that threaten and hurt my family.

I lift the Strigoi in the air again. "So, which way do you want to die?" I ask. "Burned, staked or decapitated? Personally I think your death shouldn't be as quick as ant of the options I gave you, but because torturing all of you will take hours I'll kill you and will only torture your leader and Alexander. Aren't you happy?" I ask them.

"Answer me! You should be happy. Your death will be quick while I'll torture your leader and Alexander for as long as I want. And believe me, it will be long." I have no idea why, but I have a feeling what I'm doing is not good, like I need to be somewhere else. But I'm probably just illuminating; they need to pay for… they need to pay for… Why do they need to pay? I mean, I know they have done something really bad, something bad enough that death can't even be considered a punishment, only torture can make them pay.

That doesn't matter what they have done, I'll just make them pay and will remember later. Either way, they _will_ pay.

With a twist of my hand, all the other fifty eight Strigois are piles of ashes on the ground.

I lift the remaining Strigoi in the air using the darkness, with another ball of darkness I can lift my stake on the ground and slash it through Alexander's face.

"Ahh! Just kill us; it won't help the girl if you'll torture us. The faster you'll kill us the faster you'll be with her." The Strigoi begs.

What girl is he talking about? Why do I need to be with her?

Slowly, the darkness starts to fade from my mind. I remember what Alexander had done to Rosalie at the leader's command. Not to mention the fact they wanted to take Dimitri. The fury in me rose once again, and the darkness came back to my body.

I growl at the two strigoi, now that I remember what they had done, they will suffer more then I planned. How dare they do this to Rosalie? The sweet, innocent Rosalie. I keep seeing those pictures in my head, how the strigoi had bitted her, how she fell on the floor. The puddle of blood on the floor. I can't get those pictures out of my head.

The Strigoi needs to pay. I create two balls of fire and throw them at the stomach of the Strigois, making a huge hole in the middle of their bodies. Both Strigoi yelped in pain. Good, they need to suffer, just like Rosalie is suffering.

_Wait! Rosalie is still suffering while you're here torturing those Strigois! You need to help her!_ A voice in my head screams at me.

I take all the darkness in me to make the Strigois float in the air and rip their head off. At the minute the darkness leave my body, I fall to my knees. I am so exhausted; I'll just rest a little before I… Before I… What was it I had to do?

_Rosalie! You have to get to Rosalie you idiot! She needs you!_ The voice in my head was screaming at me again.

"Rosalie, I have to get to Rosalie. She needs me." I say to myself. And with that, I start crawling toward the house. I have no strength to stand up, I'm too tired and I'm sure I'm going to black out soon. The only thing that's keeping me awake is Rosalie.

Slowly, I get to the house and enter it. The scene in front of me is horrible.

Everyone in the house is crying their hearts out. In the middle of the room Sonya cradles Rosalie's dead body, crying into her hair.

"My baby is dead. My baby is dead. Why my baby?" She sobs.

I crawl toward her, still unable to stand.

I put a hand on Rosalie's heart, feeling no pulse. And then, I hear the most agonizing scream I've heard in my life. Then I understand it is my scream.

"No! She can't be dead! She can't!" I yell. I only know Rosalie for one night and I already attach to her in a way so deep I just can't explain it. Maybe it's because she reminds me of Lissa or just because she is so sweet and innocent. I don't know why, but after one night I can't even bare the thought of Rosalie or Gabriel being dead. I can bear the thought of any of my family being hurt.

I don't know what leads me to do this, but I take Rosalie's body from Sonya's hands and hug her little body. I'm laying her body on the floor and try doing CPR.

"It won't work; she has been like this for at least fifteen minutes." Karolina sobs to me.

"I don't care." I growl. Then I feel the most amazing feeling, something I've felt before every time Lissa healed someone.

A bright white light flew from my hand right to Rosalie's heart. I can feel it beating again.

"She is alive." I whisper. Then I black out for the second time this week.

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	12. Chapter 11

**Hi guys!**

**Sorry it took me so long, I promise I'll update soon.**

**Sadly, I'll be going to a mini-vacation of four days on september 26th so I won't be able to write and update in these days.**

**I hope you like this chapter because it took a lot out of me to write it.**

**I really think this chapter deservers to get 250 reviews (I now have 233). I don't say I won't update if I won't have 250 reviews, but it will make my day and will give me more encourage to write.**

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Bad always leads to good

Chapter 11

What the hell had happened? How did I get here?

I'm standing in a half-white-half-black room; Rosalie is a few feet near me. Rosalie stands on the bright side of the room while I stand on the dark side.

While I am trying to move to the other side of the room, to stand beside Rosalie, I find that I can't move at all.

"Rosalie? Are you okay? Do you know where we are?" I ask her but it looks like she doesn't even hear me.

"Hello Rosalie." Says a figure from behind us.

Rosalie turns around and I can turn with her. Mason is standing there in front of us. He hasn't aged a day. But he doesn't look sad anymore, he looks happy, glowing.

"Who are you?" Rosalie asks, her voice shaking. "What do you want from me? Where are we?"

"Relax Rosalie, everything is fine." Mason sooths her.

"Where is my mom? And uncle Dimka and Aunty Rosie? And Aunty Sonya and grandma? And Babushka and Paul and Gabriel? Where is everybody?" Rosalie starts sobbing. I am trying to hug her and find out again that it is impossible.

Mason comes over and hugs her. "Ahh… Don't cry little Rose, you will see everyone very soon," Mason says while he Robes Rosalie's back soothingly. "You're safe here."

"Why am I here?" Rosalie asks after she calms down. I'm so glad she stopped crying because it broke my heart to see her like this.

"You are here so you could learn some things about what is going to happen from now on."

"Like what?" She asks; her eyes still fluffy and red from crying a few minutes ago.

Well, for first, you won't be shadow kissed." Mason answered. How could she not be shadow kissed? She was dead for fifteen minutes before I had brought her back to life by using spirit. She should have a bond with me. Although, I'm glad she won't be shadow kissed, she is too young to handle this shit.

"What is shadow kissed?" Rosalie asks. She still doesn't seem at ease talking to Mason, but I know he won't hurt her.

"Your Aunt Rose is shadow kissed; she can feel what her bondmate, Vasilisa Dragomir, is feeling and can see ghosts. She has got other extra powers too, but not all the shadow kissed has it, Rose is the first one." Mason answered her question. Does he speak about the fact that I can use the five elements and this weird darkness that comes from my hands? But why would I have it and other shadow kissed won't?

"Why would I be that? Is my mama is like that too?" Rosalie asks, confusion is clear in her eyes. She thought she got it from her mom, that being shadow kissed is passed through the generations. How wrong she was.

"No, your mom is not shadow kissed. You can become one when you die and a Moroi brings you back to life by using spirit. That's what had happened to your Aunt; she died in a car accident and her best friend, Lissa, had brought her back." Mason says smiling to Rosalie.

"How do you know Aunt Rosie?"

"Why won't we seat down? It's a long story and it looks like your feet hurts." Mason was still smiling at Rosalie.

"Am I going to be here much longer? I want to see my mom." Rosalie says, looking for a way to get out of here.

"You will be with your mom very soon Rosalie, don't worry." Mason says, leading Rosalie toward a couch that suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. "I realize I never told you my name. My name is Mason Ashford and I was a friend of Rose when we were in school."

"But you look like you are seventeen years old while Aunty Rosie is twenty three." Rosalie says. I swear that this girl is so smart its surprises me she is only five years old. She has the brain of a fifteen years old girl more than of five years old.

"I was killed when I was seventeen." Mason says calmly, like he is talking about the weather instead of talking about his own death.

"You are a ghost?" Rosalie looks at him with wide eyes.

"Yes." He sighs.

"And you was Aunty Rosie's friend?" she clarified.

"Yes."

After that statement Rosalie seems to relax. How odd, I thought that the fact that she is talking with a ghost will scare her, not sooth her.

A few minutes of silence pass, but it isn't uncomfortable.

"Mason? Why am I here?" Rosalie asks silently.

"Your body needs to recover and rest from what happened and I need to tell you what changed when Rose had healed you. I will also ask you to pass a letter to Rose."

"What is going to change?" Rosalie was complete at ease talking to Mason now. Weird girl.

"Like I said before, you won't be shadow kissed. You will have some sort of protection on you that will keep you safe. This protection can help but you can still be hurt."

"What else?"

"You will have a very good eye sight and hearing."

"Is there anything else?"

"No, just that." Mason smiles again. "It's not so bad, isn't it?" He asks.

"No, not at all."

"So that's all I really had to do, so we can just have fun while your body is resting." Mason smile grew. "Let's play some games."

For the next two hors I watched Mason and Rosalie play all kinds of games, balls and toys were appearing out of nowhere. It was really fun to watch them enjoy themselves; I really missed Mason all these years and to see him now, laughing and joking with my niece, was amazing. Although the games Mason and Rosalie played weren't for his age, I could see that Mason loved spending time with Rosalie.

"You should probably go, your body has fully recovered and you need to get back." Mason says.

"But I want to stay and play." Rosalie says. How ironic, two hours ago she begged Mason to go home, and now that she can she wants to stay.

"Don't worry Rosie, if you ever need me or if you will just miss me, you can just call for me, I'll know you want me to come and I will." He hugs her and kisses her cheek.

"Pinky promise?" She asks with her cute voice.

Mason laugh. "Yes." He chuckled. "You don't know how long I hadn't made a pinky promise."

"How can I go back?" Rosalie asks.

"Don't worry, I'll send you back. I'll just give you the letter for Rose; will you remember to give it to her?" He asks her.

"I will." Mason gave her a little white envelope. Rosalie folded it to half and stuck it in her pocket.

"Okay then, you are ready to go. I'll miss you Rosie." Mason hugs Rosalie again. "Just close your eyes and I'll take you back."

Rosalie closed her eyes and waited. Slowly, I could see her figure starts to fade, becoming a blur.

After Rosalie disappeared, Mason sends all the toys back to where he got them from and disappeared himself. I was alone, still on the dark side of the room and unable to move. I suddenly felt sleepy and close my eyes, still standing. I feel like I fall into a big hole and its all become black, dragging me farther and farther under the heavy hands of sleep.


	13. Chapter 12

**Hi guys!**

**Sorry it took me so long to update. (Again, long for me.)**

**I think the DPOV is not very good but that's the best I could do. What do you think?**

**I'll probably won't update again before I'll go to my mini-vacation but I'll try updating as fast as I can.**

**Love you all and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, it was extremely hard to write.**

**Tal! ;-p**

**Disclaimer: Don't worry, VA will be mine soon enough.**

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Bad always leads to good

Chapter 12

***_* DPOV *_***

"She is alive." Rose whisper and then collapse on the floor, unconscious.

"Roza!" I hear a yell, and before I can even realize it's my scream, I'm by her side, holding her in my arms.

"Roza please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up." I mumble in her ear. I can hear her soft breathing as I try to hold my tears.

In a second, I'm up on my feet again, carrying my Roza in my hands toward my room. I can't believe I'm so stupid. How could I hurt her so much? Even after all those tears I still love her so much. I lie in my bed every night, thinking about her; and when I wake up every morning, she is the first thing I think about.

I put Rose down on my bed, letting her head to rest on my chest.

"Roza please wake up. Please, you can't leave me. I'm so sorry Roza." A tear slid down from my face, falling on her hair.

"Dimka she will be okay, she has to be." I hear my mom say from the entrance. "Viktoria called her friends; they said that they will be here as soon as possible."

"Thanks mom." I tell her, not moving my eyes from the beautiful face of my Roza.

"Do you know how she did this?" She asks hesitantly.

I have no idea how Roza did this freaky thing with her hands, but frankly, right now, I don't care. All I want to know is that my Roza is safe.

"I have no idea how she did this." Tell her sincerely. I still can't move my eyes from Roza's face. She is so beautiful. I move her hair from her face and stroke her cheek gently.

"You really love her, don't you?" My mom asks me.

"Yes, I really am." I say. How could I be so stupid to let my angel go? She has probably got over me and is now with someone else. I detest the though of my Roza in the arms someone else, kissing her, _touching_ her. But she deserves someone better than me, someone who didn't try to kill her. _Several times._ Someone who hadn't drank her blood, which hadn't lied to her. In other words, someone who is not me.

I look to up from Roza's face to the place where my mother stood a few moments ago; I was so busy with my worries about Roza that I hadn't even noticed that she walked out of the room. _Some guardian._

I keep looking at my angel's face, thinking about all the mistakes I made and finally promising myself to try and fix what I've caused. I can only hope she doesn't hate me, but I know the chances aren't good.

I don't know how long I've sat there on my bed, staring at Rose's face while she is resting on my chest. At some point I started robbing circles on Rose's back, humming a song in Russian, like I did when we were still in the Academy.

I can hear four new voices in the living room. I guess Roza's friends are here.

"She is upstairs, in Dimka's room." I hear Babushka say to them.

I can hear them getting up the stairs. It takes them a lot of time, like they are carrying something heavy.

Five minutes later, when they are finally up the stairs, I see why it took them so long.

Nicolai, Viktoria's boyfriend and soon to be fiancée (she doesn't know that.), is standing at the door of the room with three other guys. One of them is on a wheelchair; the right side of his body is in cast.

At the moment the guy in the wheelchair laid his eyes on my, he glared at me.

"Get your hands away from Rose." He snarls at me.

"Denis, relax. Why are you acting like that? Dimitri hadn't done anything." Nicolai says. So this is Nicolai's brother, Denis. The only one (except the kids) that _my_ Roza allows him to call her Rosie. Why would he hate me? Are they dating?

"Hadn't done anything? I know exactly what he had done so he better get his hands off of Rose!" Denis bursts. "Now." He glares.

Roza stirs in my arms. _"Mason…"_ She mumbles. _"Rosalie…"_

I rub her back soothingly, holding her closer to my body.

"Do you guys know how did she do this thing with her hands?" I ask them, trying to distract Denis so he would stop demanding that I would stay away from my angel.

"It had happened again?" One of the two unknown guys says. "It happened when Denis was attacked. We hadn't really had time asking her what it was. We were planning on doing it when she will come back home."

"What is to you?" Denis asks.

"Denis what the hell had happened? Why are you acting like this?" The guy that talked before asks.

"What happened, Lev, is that these jerk hurt Rose and he has no right to touch her. So I'll suggest very nicely for him to get his _filthy_ hands off of her."

He is right; I have no right to touch her. I have no right to even _look_ at her. Not after what I've done to her. How I treated her while I was a Strigoi.

"Denis, Vika told me what happened. What Dimitri did while he was a Strigoi is not his fault. He couldn't have helped it." Nicolai say to his brother.

"That's not what I'm talking about. I know it wasn't his fault and Rosie knows it too. What he did when he was a Dhampir _is_ his fault. Dimitri knows what I'm talking about." I gulp. Denis knows what really happened after I was turned back. I feel so guilty for lying to my family and blaming this on Roza. I was so shocked when she hadn't told them the truth. But I can't let her take the blame. She hadn't done anything wrong. I should tell my family the truth but I don't know if I can.

Reluctantly, I move my hands away from Rose's back and get up from the bed.

"Happy now?" I ask Denis.

"Not quite." He answers his face still hard.

"Rosalie!" I hear Sonya from her room. "Oh! Thank god you're okay!" She calls.

"I'll go see hoe Rosalie is." I say.

"I'll come with you." Nicolai tells me. "I want to see how if Vika is okay."

We left the room. Leaving Rose, Denis, Lev and the other guy in the room.

"Who is the other guy?" I ask Nicolai. "There is Denis, your brother, Lev, the one that spoke, and who is the third guy?"

"Oh, that's Artur." Nicolai says, and then he walks toward Viktoria's room, looking for her.

In Sonya's room, Rosalie is still in her mother's arms. "Oh Rosalie baby, don't do this to me ever again." Sonya says.

"Sorry mommy." Rosalie says.

"Hey Rosalie, how are you feeling?" I ask Rosalie while walking into the room and hugging both her and her mother.

"I'm fine." She says. "Uncle Dimka? I need to give something to Auntie Rosie." She says. What would she need to give Roza?

"Auntie Rosie is sleeping now. Why don't you give it to me and I'll give it to her when she wakes up?" I ask. Of course I wouldn't look at it if she wouldn't want me to, but I am very curious about this thing she has to give Rose.

Rosalie shakes her little head. "I'm supposed to give it _only_ to Auntie Rosie. Will she wake up soon?" she asks.

"I don't know honey." I tell her. "I hope so."

"Rosie, do you want to go check if your Auntie Rose woke up already?" Sonya asks.

"Yes mommy."

"Then let's go." Sonya tells her little daughter with a smile on her face. You could see that after what happened today, she won't let Rosalie get out of her sight. I know how she feels.

I take Rosalie's right hand while Sonya takes her left and we all go back to my room.

Denis is lying on my bed; Rose is on his casted **(AN: is that makes any sense?)** chest much like she had been on my chest half an hour ago.

Rosalie walks into the room and holds Rose's hand. "Auntie Rosie, please wake up. I have something I need to give you." She says.

A few moments later, Rose's eyelids flutter and when they finally open she looks all over the room. I don't think she noticed me since I'm still at the door of the room and Lev is blocking me out of her view.

Then, she looks at Denis and says the one thing that confirms my worse fears and breaks my heart.

"Hey Sexy, missed me so much you had to come here and grope me while I sleep?"

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	14. Chapter 13

**Hi guys!**

**Like I said, I won't update again till Wedensday so I decided to give you another chapter before I start my vaca.**

**I expect to have lots of reviews when I get back. The more reviews I have the faster I'll write.**

**Love you all!**

**Tal =] **

**P.S.- I owned VA in the past, but a pack of evil Leprechauns stoll it from me! **

**Remember: Leprechauns are evil!**

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Bad always leads to good

Chapter 13

***_* RPOV *_***

"Hey Sexy, missed me so much you had to come here and grope me while I sleep?" I tell Denis at the moment I realize I'm lying on his chest.

Denis, Lev, Artur and I burst off laughing. I can see that Denis is in pain laughing so hard since he has five broken ribs but I couldn't pass the opportunity of revenge for waking me up today so I made funny faces, making him laugh so hard he started coughing.

"Hey babe, glad to have your eyes open. It's not very fun feeling you up when you're unconscious." Denis replies, a smile on his face. I can imagine how Denis and I are sounding to the Belikovs, teasing each other about groping me. I know Vika thinks that Denis and I are a couple, she will probably tell Dimitri. _Hey, maybe it's not such a bad idea if he thinks I'm dating Denis._

Oh god, that's real pathetic. I have such a sweet guy like Denis who I know he likes me and will never hurt me but I still can't stop thinking about certain Russian god that stopped loving me years ago, if he ever did.

Speaking of the devil, Dimitri is standing by the door of the room, staring at me with his guardian mask on. I can see that I'm in the room I slept in when I lived here.

"Auntie Rosie!" I hear little Rosalie shout before she jumps on the bed and into my arms, hugging me tightly.

"I believe you have something you need to give me." I tell her with a knowing smirk. I know Rosalie would be shocked when she will found out I was there.

Rosalie stops hugging me and looks me in the eyes. "How did you know?" She asks.

"I was in the room too, I saw you but you couldn't see me."

"Really?" Rosalie asks me with wide eyes.

"Yes. Mason is quite nice, isn't he? I laughed so hard when I saw him after the make-over you gave him. I especially liked that princess dress you'd forced him into."

Rosalie jumps on me and hugs me again. "You were there! So you know I won't be darkness-kissed right?"

I laugh. "That's shadow-kissed." I say. "And yes, I've heard what he had said. Now, would you give me the note?" I ask her, holding one hand in front of me, waiting for Rosalie to bring me the note. I know I'm being impatient, but I feel like I really have to read that note.

"What note?" I hear the most perfect voice in the world ask. I realize that this is the first time in the last five years that I've heard him talking. He has such an amazing voice.

Denis looks annoyed. "What do you care?" He snaps.

"Denis honey what's wrong? Why are you acting like this?" I ask him. I already know he can't stand Dimitri but I thought he would be a little less rude.

"You know exactly what's wrong. Don't try to act like everything is okay when it's clearly not."

"Okay…" He looks weird. "So Rosalie, are you going to give me my note any time soon?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"Oh Roza! You don't know how scared I was. How did you do this thing with the darkness?" Vika burst into the room, Nicolai behind her. Without waiting for an answer, she jumps at me.

With the help of Lev and Artur, Denis gets out of the bed and back on his wheelchair.

"I have no idea how I did it, that's why I need the note from Rosalie." I tell her.

"Here Auntie Rosie, this is the note Uncle Mase gave me." Rosalie says, handing me a folded piece of paper that has been in her pocket.

"Rose, who is this Mason guy you are talking about? And how did he give Rosalie this note?" Sonya asks.

"He's an old friend." I say, not elaborating too much.

"And he is really cool!" Rosalie says. "He can make toys appear from nowhere! He had even gave me them, he said it will be in my closet." You could see the excitement in Rosalie's eyes. Especially about the big teddy bear they played with. She called him Mr. Honey.

"He did?" Sonya asks, clearly not believing her five years old daughter that says someone made toys appear in her closet.

"Yes! And he said that if I want to talk to him I just need to say his name! Oh mommy can I play with Uncle Mason soon?" Rosalie is so excited, she is practically jumping on the bed. "He told me to tell Auntie Rosie that he is happy now, and that she doesn't need to worry. He said she can call him too and we can all play with Mr. Honey! Will you play with us mommy?"

"Umm… Rosie sweetie, your mommy can't see Mase, only you and I can." I tell her. "But I promise you we will play with him sometime soon."

"Okay Auntie."

"Rosalie honey, I think we should go to bed now, it was a long day and I'm sure Rose want to rest." Sonya says and takes Rosalie to her room.

"So what are you guys doing here?" I ask Denis, Lev and Artur. I was aching to see what is written in the note from Mason, but it will be extremely rude to open it near them and I have a feeling I need to read this alone.

"Vika called us, she said you did some freaky thing with your hands and killed sixty Strigoi with shadows; and then you brought Rosalie back to life and passed out. Is it true Rosie?" Denis asks.

"Umm… I _think_ so… My memories are all blurry." I tell him. How had I done this? The urgency to read the note and realize what had happened is growing inside of me. But again, I can't just kick them out of the room, especially when it's not my room to kick them from.

"How did you do it?" Lev asks. "I mean, I saw what happened when that Strigoi hurt Denis, but I thought I just imagined it or something."

"I don't know. I hope this note will explain what had happened."

"Open it then." Artur says, indicating to the note that was clutch in my hand.

"I think it would be better if I'll open it alone first, just in case."

"Rosie, who is this Mason Sonya's daughter talked about?" Denis asks.

"He was my best guy friend when I was in the Academy. He died when we were seventeen. Do you remember when I told you about my first two kills?"

Realization showed on Denis's face. "He was the one that was with you in Spokane. Mason Ashfold."

I chuckle "Mason _Ashford._ And yes, that's the same one."

"And Sonya's daughter-"

"-Rosalie." I tell him.

"Okay. And Rosalie can see him because she is shadow kissed?" Denis asks again.

"No, she is not shadow kissed. She can see him because she died, but she is not shadow kissed."

"How?" This time it was Lev that asks. I explained them all about Spirit and about being shadow kissed and what it means.

"It's a long story, can I tell you later?" I ask them.

"Sure honey." Denis says, holding my hands.

I can see that Dimitri is glaring at him. What's up with him?

"Let's just go back home, I'm exhausted." I tell them while yawning.

"Don't even think about it young lady." Olena says while walking into the room. "Vika told me that you slept on the couch tonight. You're staying here." She stated, not even asking.

"No, I'm sleeping in Denis's room." I tell her. "I'm fine sleeping there. And he night needs help in the middle of the night with his cast."

"Rose, you have no room on Denis's bed now that he is in cast. And I think he would rather die before waking you up after what you made him do last time."

I feel like a little girl under the disapproving eyes of Olena. "Oh Roza, what did you do?" She asks me.

"Hey! It's not my fault! He woke up and got off bed, and then he fell on me. _While I was still asleep!_" I say, irritated.

"You know what? That doesn't matter. You are staying here and that's the end of this discussion." Olena tell me.

"Ugh. Fine." I say. I really don't want to live ion the same house with Dimitri, but I missed Olena and the rest of the family like crazy and I just can't say no to someone as sweet and loving as Olena.

"Baby, I don't think it's a good idea for you to stay here." Denis says, eyeing Dimitri. "Maybe is I'll move more to the side of the bed you can still sleep there."

"Denis man, we all know Rose has no room on this tiny bed of yours, I don't understand how can you both feet there when you're not in cast." Lev told him. He is right, Denis has a single bed. But since he is the smallest out of the three of them, I sleep in his bed. I don't really mind since he is my second best friend. "But don't worry; you can go back to cuddling with Rose at the minute you're out of this cast."

I suddenly realize that Dimitri is still in the room and that he has heard everything Lev just said. I sneak a look at his face, he has his guardian mask on, but I can see the emotions in his eyes. _Rage. Envy. Regret. Longing._ But why would he feel that way? I probably just read him wrong or something.

"Okay." Denis says. "I think we should go back home. The sun is up and if we are going to live on human schedule, we would better go to sleep for a few hours so we won't pass out in the middle of the day."

"Okay, I'll talk to you later." I hug the three of them and kiss Denis on the cheek.

"Okay Rose, so you'll sleep with Viktoria in her room. Breakfast is in two hours." Olena says and walks out of the room.

Now it's just Dimitri and I in the room, Vika and Nicolai left the room fifteen minutes ago.

"Roza…" Dimitri says.

"My name is Rose." I tell him, he has no right to call me Roza. He called me like that when he still loved me.

"Rose I'm…"

"You know what Dimitri? I think I should go get my stuff from Denis's apartment."

"Nicolai and Viktoria said that they are going to bring your things."

"Oh." _I know that, I just don't want to talk to you._ "Then I should better read the note Mason sent me. I'll go to take a walk outside." I say and run out of the room. I really don't want to talk to him right now; I don't have the strength to hear him saying he doesn't love me again. He probably wants to tell me he has a girlfriend or something.

I know I'll have to talk to him sometime, but for now I think it's better if he keeps his distance. If I'm going to live in his house for more than a month, I don't think it'll be a good idea if I punch him. Might make the atmosphere around him and me uncomfortable. Like it's not uncomfortable now.

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	15. Chapter 14

**Hi guys!**

**I'm back!**

**Hope you like =]**

**Tal ;-p**

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Bad always leads to good

Chapter 14

_Dear Rose,  
I know you are very confused right now, but as much as I would love to, I can't tell you everything.  
There are things you'll have to learn about by yourself. Although, I can tell you some things about you new powers.  
You see, in our world, there are six elements of magic: Fire, water, air, earth, spirit and darkness. You can control all six elements because you saved the world, even if you don't know you had.  
Last month there was supposed to be an attack on Court by the Strigoi that would have led to the Strigoi taking over the world. They would have used dhampir girls as blood whores, the moroi as food, and the dhampir males and the humans as servants.  
__The day before you found out about your powers, you had killed your MILLIONTH Strigoi and gained your power. Since you killed so many Strigois the attack hadn't happened and the world was saved.  
You are the first and only person in the whole world that can use darkness, because nobody had ever killed as much Strigois as you have. Also, your senses have gotten better than a Strigoi's and you got stronger and faster, you can now outrun and defeat every Strigoi in the world. Your aim and reflexes have sharpened and are better now. To make a long story short, you are the best fighter ever.  
As for Rosalie, she won't be shadow kissed. Since you're shadow kissed yourself, after you brought her back, you sucked the darkness out of her. You'll have to get the darkness out by using you magic.  
Instead of being shadow kissed, Rosalie will have protection, someone from here to watch over her. She can see her guardian only when she wants to but he can get her out of trouble. Actually, I'm Rosalie's guardian. But, a guardian angel can fail. I can help when she is in trouble but there is a limit to what I can do.  
I recommend you to use Spirit to bring people back to life only when you have to. It will drain your energy for a few days and you are risking your life every time you bring someone back. If it was his fate to die, you can be sucked into the world of the dead and be stuck there without a way to get out. Also, the darkness disposes the darkness you take from Lissa but you don't need to have darkness in you to use your elements.  
You can use the darkness for everything you want to do; you can even put off fire with it.  
That is all I cam tell you for now, Rose. You will have more powers in the future but you will have to find it out by yourself.  
You can call for me every time you want to talk or to ask something and I'll come.  
I love you,  
Mason._

W-O-W

Just wow.

There are six elements of magic? Not five? What does Mason means when he wrote that I'll have more powers in the future? Like what? And when?

I have so many questions; I just can't understand how I can save the world without even knowing it. And did I really kill so many Strigoi? I'll have to ask Sydney. Oh! I need to call her and tell her I killed sixty Strigoi yesterday. I promised her I tell her about every kill I have done. Luckily, I still have my phone on me. I get my phone out of my pocket and dial the familiar number.  
After the fourth ring Sydney answer. "Hello?" she asks.

"Hey Sydney, it's Rose." I tell her.

"Rose! How do you feel? Lev called me and told me what happened. Are you okay? Do you need something?" Sydney asks, clearly panicking about my well being. That's really sweet of her to help me that way. And to think that six years ago she was scared of being in the same room with me.

"Sydney, take a chill pill. I'm fine. I just called to tell you I killed sixty Strigois yesterday and to ask you how many Strigois I've killed in the last five years." I reassure her.

"Oh, Lev told me about your killing yesterday. How did you manage to kill so many Strigois by your own?" She asks. I have complete trust in Sydney, but if she wouldn't know about these new powers, she will be in less danger from the Strigoi. It's bad enough that she knows who 'The Killer' is. A Strigoi can kidnap her so she could tell him what she knows and I won't forgive myself if Sydney will be hurt because of me.

"What can I say? I'm awesome." I feel bad about not telling her the whole truth, but at least I don't lie to her. I am awesome. "Can you check how many Strigoi I killed?" I ask her.

"Sure, wait a second." She says and I hear her typing on her keyboard. "Including yesterday, you killed 1,000,072 Strigoi. Wow Rose, you _are_ awesome."

"Yeah, I know I'm awesome. But are you sure? 1,000,072?" Wow, so Mason hadn't lied when he said I killed a million Strigois before Denis was attacked. Then I killed twelve in the club and sixty yesterday.

"I'm positive. Unless you didn't tell me of some killing…"

"No, I told you of every single kill I've done. It's just… Wow. 1,000,072."

"I know. I mean, I knew you were a badass and I've wrote all your kills, but I never counted them together. Are you sure you don't want you _Molnija _marks? I can send Dave; he won't tell who you are." She suggests. Do I really want my marks? I mean, I know those marks are very important thing, but I don't kill Strigoi to get the marks. I kill them because they are evil and need to be destroyed.

"I don't have enough place on my neck for more than million tattoos Sydney. And do you expect me to seat quietly while I get 1,000,072 tattoos? Do you know how this shit hurts?" I ask her. I already have two _Molnija_ marks and one battle star; and of course the promise mark. Making more than million tattoos will hurt like hell.

"Okay then, I guess that's a no." Sydney tells me. "D you need something else?" She asks.

"No, thanks for helping me Syd." I tell her.

"No problem. I have to get back to work. Stay safe Rose."

"You too Sydney. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye Rose."

So Mason wasn't bluffing. I did kill million Strigoi. And that's why I got my powers. Well, that and the fact that I saved the world. Like I said, I'm awesome.

At least Mason will be Rosalie's guardian angle. That's a good thing, that way she will be safe.

I think I should go back to the Belikovs house, breakfast is in ten minutes and I'm very far from the house. Mason had said I'm faster and stronger than any Strigoi now, maybe I should try it out.

I start running, I run in an amazing speed, but I don't feel dizzy. I can see every little detail around me.

After a minute, I am already at the house. A walk this far would take me at least an hour. A normal run would take me thirty minutes.

I wonder if I can use things with my darkness; Mason did say I can do anything with it.

I send my hand and point my palm toward the door. Nothing happens. I try harder, pointing my palm toward the door and focusing on it.

Suddenly, the door burst in flames.

"Oh shit!" I yelp and immediately send my hand again. This time, darkness had come out of my palm and suffocated the fire. The door looks like it was before, not a scratch on it.

"Rose. What was this thing?" Olena asks when she opens the door.

"Just testing my new powers. I'm sorry Olena; I didn't mean to make your door burst in flames. I was trying to open it."

Olena looks at me like I just said that I was kidnapped by aliens. "Just come in, breakfast is in five minutes." She says.

"Lets go, I'm hungry." I tell her. I missed Olena's cooking so much.

"You are always hungry Rose. But I'm glad you're back." Olena puts her hand around my shoulder.

"Glad to be back with my family, Olena."

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	16. Chapter 15

**Hi guys!**

**I know it's not possible for Rose to kill mor than million Strigoi in only five years but I needed a reason for Rose to have her powers and I think that if she killed fifty Strigois in two weeks when she was in Spokane at the begining that 1,000 Strigoi in five years will won't be enough. Besides, I want Rose to be the badass she is. So lets put the math away and pretend that she can kill 1,000,072 Strigois in five years.**

**Love you all and Hope you like this chapter,**

**Tal ;-p**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 15

Breakfast was nice, I missed Olena's cooking so much, I almost ate her hand when she gave me her famous black bread.

"Olena, your bread is so amazing. I think this is the best bread you have made so far." I moaned.

"Actually," Olena replies, a knowing smile on her face. "Dimitri baked this bread." I froze mid-bite, and then began to chew again. "I'm sure he will be glad to teach you how to bake it yourself."

"Umm… Thanks." I really don't know how to answer that. I think 'I'd rather claw my eyes out than let him hurt me again.' will be kind of rude.

After breakfast, I unpack the bag with my things Vika brought me to the closet in her room.

"Roza?" Vika asks while she watches me unpacking from her place on the bed.

"Yes?" I ask her.

"I know it's none of my business but… Do you still love Dimka?"

"Why would you ask that?" I am trying to avoid from answering her.

"Well, when I got back home from Denis's place with your stuff, I heard mom and Dimka talking in the kitchen while he was baking the bread-"

"-Viktoria, you don't need to tell me what you heard. Dimitri and I are grown-ups and this whole story is behind us. Besides, eavesdropping and gossiping is for old ladies that don't have any life of their own." Although I really want to know what Dimitri and Olena were talking about, I'm sure I won't like it. And even if Dimitri said something I would like to hear, he would only say it to keep his act of me dumping him and not the other way around.

"Sorry Roza. But don't you want to know what he said? Even a little?" Yes, but it's not healthy to be so obsessed with one person; I would end up being like this Bella girl.

"No, it's not my business. Dimitri is a single man and he can do whatever he wants."

"But Roza, that's exactly it, Dimitri is-"

"-Viktoria just please stop it."

"Okay Roza, sorry."

We both stay in silence for another few minutes before I start talking again.

"So, how did you and Nicolai start dating?" I ask.

"We started dating six years ago. When I got back to school after you left I was really depressed and Nicolai cheered me up. We are dating since then." I can see the spark in Viktoria's eyes when she talks about Nicolai. I hate to say it, but I envy her for having her true love. "I just don't understand why he doesn't propose." Her face falls a little. "I mean. We both work in the Academy, so it's not a problem. But he just… Doesn't."

"Do you want me to give him the big sister talk?" I smirk at her. I know Vika would never want me to do such thing, but it's just so fun teasing her.

"No! Rose don't you dare! Promise me you won't talk to him about it!" She panics. But I just can't help myself; it's so fun to taunt her.

"Vika, relax. I promise I won't talk to your little lover about weddings." I tell her. "Party pooper."

"Good." She looks relived.

"But I never said anything about the sex talk; I can give your lover boy a lot of good advices." I think I might start calling Nicolai 'Lover boy' on a regular basis; it suits him. But, actually, I don't have any good advices about sex since I only slept with two men my whole life, and not everyone can be Russian gods that are great in bed like Dimitri. When Denis and I dated, we had sex but it wasn't the same.

"Rosemarie Hathaway! Don't you dare!" She screams. I'm pretty sure everyone in the house could hear her.

"Girls? What is happening here? Why is all the screaming?" Olena stands at the door with her hands folded under her chest. The rest of the family is standing behind her.

"I just wanted to help Viktoria and she freaked out." I tell Olena, fake hurt in my innocent eyes. "I don't know what is wrong with her. I just wanted to help." I smirk in Viktoria's direction when Olena is not looking. I think that the rest of the family realizes I am not as innocent as I sound and are now full grinning, knowing that they would be laughing very soon. Only Olena is still clueless.

"Viktoria? Care to explain what had happened?" She asks.

"Rose just said she would give Nicolai the big sister talk and will give him lots of sex advices." She said. She was very embarrassed, but she probably knew that if she won't tell the truth she will be punished for bursting at me for nothing.

The whole family, except Viktoria of course, burst in laughter. Even Dimitri laughed.

When she finally stops laughing, Olena looks over at her embarrassed daughter with a glint in her eyes.

"It's very rude of you to refuse Rose's help, Viktoria. I demand that you would be a good host and let Rose help you. She was extremely generous by offering you that kind of help and you will except it with gratitude."

Whoa. Did Olena just _tease_ Viktoria?

"What? But mom!" Vika whines.

"That's the end of this discussion young lady, next time Nicolai is here Rose will take him to a little talk." Olena smirks at her daughter. "Maybe Dimka can join and give him the big brother talk at the same time. I know he was planning to do this for quite a while…" Am I dreaming? I was sure Olena will be mad at me for teasing her daughter. I never thought she would play along with me. And now she is bringing Dimitri into it too.

"I will be honored." Dimitri says, a wide grin is still on his face. Great, so now Dimitri and I are going to be threatening Nicolai and then give him sex advices. Well, that will be interesting. I decide that if I'm going to live with Dimitri for the whole month, I will need to start acting normal, at least around his family.

"But… Mom! Dimka!" Viktoria freaks out; she is clearly at loss of words. "Please don't do this to me." She pleads. "Please Rose; you know how much I love you, right?"

"Awww! I love you too Vika." I coo at her. "This is exactly why I'll be doing this. It is my duty as your non-biological big sister."

"Dimka… You know you are my favorite brother, right?" She asks with her big puppy dog eyes.

"I'm your only brother Vika." He tells her.

"But you are still my favorite." She pouts. "Don't you want to help your little sister?"

"I am helping my little sister Vika. You will thank me about it later." He pretends to think for a second. "Well, most likely you won't. But think about it that way, I will have a funny story to tell in your wedding."

"Dimka don't you dare to even mention wedding in front of Nicolai!" Viktoria bursts.

"Don't worry Vika, I won't tell him anything about wedding, I promise. I'll just help Rose with the sex advices part and I'll tell him that if he breaks your heart, I'll break his balls." He smirks. I can't believe he stole my sentence! He knows that I have threatened Christian that way when he and Lissa started dating.

"I can't believe you stole my line!" I tell him, trying to ignore the feeling I get at the pit of my stomach every time I look at him. "Well. Too bad for you. This is my line since Lissa started dating and I'm going to tell it to Nicolai." I throw a smirk at Viktoria's direction. She has a big scowl on her face. "Sorry Comrade, but you will just have to find something else to threaten him with." Dimitri's smile got bigger when I called him Comrade. I always knew he secretly like the nickname I've invented him.

"Besides, I think it will be better if I'll threaten him since I can use all elements. I can demonstrate how I'll set his ass on fire if he hurts Vika."

"You can use all elements?" Dimitri asks with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yeah, it's a long story." I say.

"Mom, please don't let them do this to me. I'll die from embarrassment." Viktoria pleads to Olena.

"Oh don't be silly Viktoria, nobody ever died from a little embarrassment." She smirks again.

"Listen, as much as I would love to stay here and tell Vika the exact words I'm going to tell her lover boy, I have to get to Denis's apartment and cook breakfast for the guys before they start starving." I tell them.

Dimitri's smile vanished when I mentioned Denis. "You are cooking?" He asks. "Last time I saw you, you could managed to burn a glass of water."

_A lot has happened since the last you saw me._ "You can laugh as much as you want," I tell him. "But I'm a pretty good cook now."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Dimitri asks. What made him be so… eager to be alone with me all of a sudden?

"No, that's okay." I tell him.

"I think that's a great idea Dimka." Olena says. What's up with her?

"No, really, that's fine. I need to do some things alone anyway." I tell her. I want to practice the whole darkness thing again since the only thing I could do last time is set the door on fire; which was really cool but not what I wanted to do.

"Oh, okay then, lunch is at two o'clock." She says and they all walk out of the room. I change my clothes to a simple black short shorts and white tank top.

When I'm out of the house I'm running with my new super speed toward an abandoned parking lot close to Denis's apartment.

I put my hands up again, my palms pointed toward a big rock on the ground. I focus on the rock and on my hands, trying to make the darkness come out of my palms.

I feel a warm feeling in the center of my palm and in my head and then the darkness burst out of my hands. It raps itself around the big rock and lifts it in the air. Then, I move my hands a little to the left, and the darkness moves the rock to the left too. I think about making the rock to float all around the parking lot and move my hand again. The rock starts floating around the parking lot.

"Cool." I murmur to myself.

Then, I think about setting the rock on fire. I concentrate on my hands and on the rock, that still floats in air, and the rock bursts in flames.

I think I understand how my new powers work; I just need to think of what I want to do and point my hands toward the object I want to do it to. I wonder if I could do it without moving my hands. I place my hands near my body and concentrate on trying to make my body float in the air. I close my eyes and imagine the darkness warping itself around my body and lifting me above the ground.

And then, I open my eyes and find myself floating in the air, the darkness snakes from my palm and warps itself around me, just like I imagined.

"Wow. I can fly!" I say to myself. I try thinking about flying toward Denis's apartment and the darkness starts moving me. I speed all the way to Denis's place and land on his footstep. I'm very lucky nobody saw me; I should be careful with using my powers. The less people that know about this, the better. I decide I won't use any of my new powers against Strigois unless it would be absolutely necessary. If one of them sees me using the elements and gets away from me… I don't even want to think about the outcomes of this possibility.

I walk through the door. "Hey guys, I came to save you from starving!" I yell.

"Hi Rosie, thank god you are here, Lev almost burned the kitchen." Denis says while he wheels himself into the room.

"He tried to cook?" I say with fake horror. "What did he try to cook anyway?" I ask.

"Toast." I snort. He can't even cook toast without burning the kitchen! Well, I guess I shouldn't talk since I was like him five years ago but still! A toast!

"Hey! It wasn't my fault." Lev defends him while he walks into the room. "Your toaster sucks man." He tells Denis.

"Don't worry boys; I came to save you from yourselves."

"Great. Start cooking, I'm starving." Of course, that was Artur that just walked into the room.

"Yes Sir!" I salute him.

"Good to know you know your place, woman." He says.

"I make pancakes, Lev's favorite food. He says he would rather eat pancakes for every day of his life more than any other food.

"Mmmm… Rose, you are a god." Lev moans. "Those are the best pancakes you have made since I know you. Please marry me; I'll be the best husband ever."

"I'm sorry Lev," I tell him. "but my heart belongs to Artur. We decided we will run away into the sunset right after lunch. Right Dear?" I wink at Artur.

"Of course Honey. I already have the perfect place for our wedding night." He winks back at me and we all laugh.

"Listen Guys, I'll cook your lunch but I can't stay and eat with you. I can't come and cook for you every day either. You'll just have to cook for yourself." I feel horrible to leave them to cook for themselves, since I know it would end up with food poisoning, but I can't come to the house every day to cook for the guys; it will take too long and I promised myself I won't use my powers unless I'm sure nobody can see me.

"That's fine Rosie. We will go empty Nicolai's fridge tonight and we will find something to eat tomorrow. If we will get really hungry we can come over to the Belikovs house and you could cook for us there." Denis says. "But first, can I talk to you alone for a couple of minutes?" He asks.

"Sure, where do you want to go so we could talk?" I ask him. What would Denis want to talk about?

"Let's just go out for a walk… Or a ride in my case."

"Let's go."

I wheel Denis's chair out of the house and on the sidewalk.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I ask him.

"Well, I know what happened with you and Belikov, and what he did to you after all the things you have done for him, and I guess I just want to know how you are dealing with staying in the same house with him." So he wants to talk about Dimitri?

"Oh, wall, I'm fine. I just act like nothing had happened in front of the rest of the family. We have even said we are going to give your brother the big brother and sister talk and in the end we will give him some sex advices." I tell him and laugh as I remember Vika's face when I told her what I'm going to tell her lover boy. But it looks like Denis doesn't think it's funny.

"What? After what he did to you and how he had hurt you, you are just going to act like it didn't happen?" He looks furious. "Why would you do such a thing Rose?"

"Denis honey, his family doesn't even know what happened between Dimitri and I, They think that after he was changed back by Lissa _only,_ I didn't want to be with him because of what he had done to me as a Strigoi." I tell him. It's probably not the smartest idea to tell Denis that Dimitri blamed me, but I have to defend myself. I won't let Denis think that I forgave Dimitri, because I totally haven't. "Believe me baby, I'm furious at Dimitri. It's just an act around his family."

"Did that jerk blame you for this? Because if he did so help me god I'm going to kick his ass so bad he won't even remember his own name!" Denis bursts.

"Denis, if anyone is going to kick Dimitri's ass, it's me. Besides, I don't think you will be able to kick a toddler's ass while you are still on a wheelchair. Why don't you heal first before you start making your hit list?" I doubt Denis could really hurt Dimitri with Dimitri's awesome fighting skills, even if he is completely healed. Although Denis is very good at fighting, Dimitri is just better.

"Okay. But you are not going to forgive him, right Rosie? Not after what he said to you." I don't know why Denis thinks he can tell me if I should forgive Dimitri. Who the hell does he thinks he is? _He is you best guy-friend that saw how you suffered because of Dimitri._ A voice in my head whispers in my ear. _He just wants to make sure you won't get hurt again._ Great, now I start hearing voices.

"Denis baby, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"I know Rosie, but I've seen how hurt you were when you first joined me and the guys and I won't let him hurt you again."

"Awww… Thank you sexy, I really appreciate it." I smile at him. "I think I should start cooking your lunch if I want to be back at the Belikovs house by two." I tell him, trying to change the subject to something lighter.

"Sure, let's go. So tell me, what did your ghost friend wrote to you in the letter Rosalie gave you? Did he tell you how you have done that thing?" Denis asks, curiosity burning in his eyes.

"He told me I can use all elements." I know that the few people that know about this the better, but Denis is my best friend and we don't keep secrets from each other.

"Really? That's so cool! Wait, what's with the freaky dark stuff? What element is that?" He asks.

"That's darkness, the sixth and most powerful element." I sigh.

"There are six elements?"

"Yep."

"Cool. So, cam you like, kill Strigoi with this thing?" That's what good about Denis, he accepts me with all the weird things that I have in my life. Including seeing ghosts, feeling my best friend's emotions and using all the elements.

"Yes. I can do everything I want with darkness." I tell him. Then I check that there is no one anywhere near us. We can see Denis's house from where we stand but all the windows that can possibly show what we are doing is closed and tinted so there is no way someone can see what I'm going to do. "Check this out." I tell him and then I point my palms toward him.

I imagine making Denis's wheelchair float in the air like I've floated myself in the parking lot and making him land on the doorstep of his house. Then I run toward him with my Strigoi speed and I stand by his side in a second.

"Cool!" Denis's voice booms.

I walk into the house like nothing has happened and start cooking the guys' lunch.

"Guys, I'm done with your lunch. I think I better get going back to the Belikovs house." I tell Artur, Lev and Denis when I'm finally finish with cooking their food. "Besides, I think Nicolai is coming today for lunch and I need to have a very interesting chat with him." I tell them and Denis bursts out laughing. I guess that now after he calmed down about this whole Dimitri thing he finds my future chat with Nicolai quit funny.

"What's so funny?" Lev and Artur ask.

"Denis will tell you. I'll talk to you later guys." "Okay Rosie, but you will have to tell me how your chat with my brother went." Denis says between chuckles.

"I will, I promise. Bye guys."

"Bye Rose."

I walk to the Belikovs house with my normal speed, trying to get used again to walking in a normal speed rather than running. It's so weird, I have this powers for less than three days and I'm already gotten used to them.

On the porch, with two cups of hot tea in front of her, Yeva is sitting. Why would she have to cups? One isn't enough?

"I think it's time for out little talk now Roza." She says to me.

Oh. That's not good.

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**Okay! So another chapter is done! Tell me what you think!**

**R&R!**


	17. AN 2

**Bad always leads to good**

**I'm so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so ****so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so  
****SORRY!**

**I'm really sorry I hadn't updated for so long, school is crazy and I barely have any time to breathe. I swear I'll try to update as soon as I can but it may take some time, so you'll have to be patient with me.**

**I have half of chapter 16 written and I just need to find the time to sit on my ass and write. If anyone has any good idea for the next few chapters I will be happy to hear it, I need some new ideas 'cause I have none.**

**I promise I'll do everything I can to update soon.**

**Tal :-***


	18. Chapter 16

**Hi guys!**

**I'm so so so very sorry!**

**I know it's a short chapter and that I hadn't updated in ages! But it has been a crazy month!**

**Just to let you know, on Sunday I have my History test, on Tuesday I have my Arabic test and on Thursday I have my Hebrew grammer test! I'm shocked I had enough time to finish this chapter.**

**I hope you like it and I'm sorry about it's shortiness.**

**Love you all,**

**Tal ;-P**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 16

I walk to the porch and sit next to Yeva. "Umm… Sure Yeva, what do you want to talk about?" I ask. Although I already know what she wants to talk about, I'm not going to help her with this conversation.

"Roza, you know exactly what I want to talk about. Why didn't you tell the rest of the family that Dimka lied? That you didn't do what they think you did?"

"Why didn't you?" I ask her, trying to stall some time so maybe I wouldn't have to answer. Because frankly, I have no idea why I lied.

"Because it's none of my business." She tells me. "But it is yours."

"Well, to tell you the truth Yeva, I don't know why I lied. It just seems cruel to come to his house and tell his family he had lied to them for five years."

"But he did lie to them. Even though they are not mad at you, they are still upset that you did what they think you did. They saw how much he suffered and they think it's your fault. The family loves you Roza, with all our hearts, but they think that you don't deserve Dimka." _Ouch._ Do they really think that about me? I blink my tears back in. Rose Hathaway does not cry. Well, actually after those five years I can't say that, since I practically cried my self to sleep every night for the first two years.

I sigh "I'm not going to tell on him Yeva. I'll just have to endure it. Think about it, When Denis will heal, I'll go back to hunting with the guys, I'll leave Baia and that will be the end of the story. I'll just have to lie to the family for the next month."

"Roza, I've seen how injured Denis is; he won't heal in a month. Maybe in four or five month he will be able to hunt again, not before."

"What?" I always assumed it will be a month. How can I live at the same house with the guy that broke my heart for five months? What if he will bring a girl to meet his family? What if he already has one? "I can't do it Yeva. I won't be able to live here for five months. I'll go crazy! I'll just have to go back to Denis's bed."

"Don't be silly Roza. We both know that your real place is here." Yeva tells me.

"No, my real place is in the street cleaning the world from Strigois."

"Roza, your place is with your family. Every one can retire from their jobs. Even 'The Killer'" She smiles at me.

What. The. Fuck. How the hell does she know? "What? How? Who? When?" I was speechless. "How did you know?" I ask her.

"How did I know what happened with Dimka?" She asks me.

"Oh god Yeva you can't tell anyone." I beg her.

"Of course I won't tell anyone Roza, but please think about staying her, with us. We are your family and your place is with us, you shouldn't risk your life like that."

"Yeva, I don't think that the idea of me and Dimitri at the same house is very good." I sigh. "I'm not very sure I can survive this week. Besides, I'm not going to leave the guys to starve." Actually, the guys can take care of themselves, they had done it before I came and they can do it again if I'll leave. But I still don't want to leave them.

"They can stay in Baia too. I know Nicolai will be ecstatic to have his brother back and I know that Artur and Lev's mothers miss them very much. And, there are enough Strigois near Baia. You and the boys don't have to leave again."

"I don't know Yeva, I really don't know." I'm so confused right now. What should I do? I know that there is no way I could live here but I missed my family so much. I haven't seen them for six years and now they are offering me to live with them.

"You know Roza, it wasn't the first time Dimka lied to someone he loves." Yeva says out of the blue. She looks deep into my eyes like she tries to tell me something.

"What?" What a weird statement. Of course it wasn't the first time Dimitri lied to someone he loves. People lie all the time, I'm sure he lied to his family before.

"I said, it wasn't the first time Dimka lied to someone he loves." She repeats.

"Okay… But why do I need to know this? What does it has to do with me?"

"You know Roza, for a smart girl, you are very stupid." Yeva says.

"Gee, thanks Yeva, I love you too."  
Yeva moves a little closer to me and puts her little hands around me, I rest my head on her shoulder and sigh "Life is so complicate." I mumble.

We sit like that for a few moments before we hear the front door opens.

"Babushka, do you think we can talk for a minute?" I hear Dimitri ask. His voice sounds emotionless and cold. I can practically see his guardian mask on his face when he talks with that tone.

And truly, when I look at Dimitri's face, his face is a stoic mask, just like a statue.

"Umm… I'll go help Olena with lunch, I'm sure she would like some help." I say as I get up from the bench Yeva and I were sitting on. I take my cup of tea that had gotten cold while Yeva and I talked and enter the house.

"Hey Olena, do you need some help with preparing lunch?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen. The smell of Olena's cooking reaches my nose. The smell of the food in here is amazing. As much as I've gotten better with cooking and I now cook pretty good, I'll never be able to cook half as good as Olena.

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**Next chapter will be DPOV.**

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	19. Chapter 17

**Hey guys...**

**I know you probably want to shoot me right now but I swear it's not my fault! Well it is but please don't shoot me! I'm too young to die!**

**Besides, I won't be able to UD if I'm dead! I don't think that I'll have internet access in my grave. Hmm... Maybe I can ask my mom...**

**Anyways I'm very sorry and I'll try to UD sooner.**

**So until I'll be sure you are not out to kill me, I'll go hide in my closet.**

**Hope you like ;-)**

**Tal :-***

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 17

***_*DPOV*_***

Where is she? Rose should have been here three hours ago! How long does it take to cook lunch for three guys? Maybe I should go looking for her? Maybe those Strigois got her…

_Don't be silly Belikov! Your Roza is the strongest person you have ever met!_ This thing she did to save Rosalie was amazing. But how did she do that? I could practically she the sparks flying from Roza's hands straight towards Rosalie's little figure. And the way she fought those Strigois… But how? I've never seen anything like that. She said she can use all elements, but how? Dhampirs don't use magic. Only Morois can use magic.

And the way she acted this morning when she teased Vika, like nothing had happened. Had she really forgiven me or was it just an act? She even agreed to give Nicolai "the talk" with me. I was oddly excited about giving my soon-to-be-brother-in-law sex advices.

"Dimka can you bring me two cups of hot tea?" Grandma calls from the porch.

"Sure Babushka, why do you need two cups?" I ask her.

"I just do." Sometimes it's really annoying to live with a Grandma that knows everything. Most of the time it's much easier to just give her what she wants without even asking why.

After she gets her two cups of hot tea, I get back to the living room and seat on the couch, pretending to be busy and waiting for my Roza to come back. _Dammit Belikov! She is not your Roza anymore! You pushed her away! Now deal with it!_ A little voice in my head shouts at me. Great. Now I hear voices in my head. That girl will drive me insane.

"I think it's time for our little talk now Roza." I hear Grandma saying. Wait. Roza? She's back?

"Umm… Sure Yeva, what do you want to talk about?" Roza asks. I have an idea why Babushka would want to talk with Roza, I'm not stupid and I know that Roza knows what she wants to talk about too.

"Roza, you know exactly what I want to talk about. Why didn't you tell the rest of the family that Dimka lied? That you didn't do what they think you did?" That's exactly what I want to know. Why hadn't she told the truth? She has every right to do so.

"Why didn't you?"

"Because it's none of my business." Babushka tells her. "But it is yours."

"Well, to tell you the truth Yeva, I don't know why I lied. It just seems cruel to come to his house and tell his family he had lied to them for five years." That's so… Rose. I don't deserve her, she is too good for me. I should just leave her alone and let her be happy, she doesn't need me, she has Denis now. Ugh. I hate him so much, and by the look on his face, the feeling is mutual.

"But he did lie to them. Even though they are not mad at you, they are still upset that you did what they think you did. They saw how much he suffered and they think it's your fault. The family loves you Roza, with all our hearts, but they think that you don't deserve Dimka." I've told them so many times that it's not Roza's fault, that they shouldn't be mad at her, but the girls hadn't listened to me. They kept saying even though they love Roza, they won't let her hurt me again. Mom and Vika were very quiet in these conversations. Vika felt so guilty about what happened with Rose before she left that she said she wouldn't be angry at Rose ever again no matter what she does. Mom just loves Rose too much to be mad at her. She said that she is sure that Rose will realize what a mistake she has done. Mom knows that I still love her; we actually talked about it today when I baked the bread. Now she is determined to bring us back together.

"I'm not going to tell on him Yeva. I'll just have to endure it. Think about it, When Denis will heal, I'll go back to hunting with the guys, I'll leave Baia and that will be the end of the story. I'll just have to lie to the family for the next month." What? She can't leave. I won't let her. She just can't.

"Roza, I've seen how injured Denis is; he won't heal in a month. Maybe in four or five month he will be able to hunt again, not before." Thank god.

"What? I can't do it Yeva. I won't be able to live here for five months. I'll go crazy! I'll just have to go back to Denis's bed."

"Don't be silly Roza. We both know that your real place is here."

"No, my real place is in the street cleaning the world from Strigois."

"Roza, your place is with your family. Everyone can retire from their jobs. Even 'The Killer'" What? What does she mean 'The Killer'? She can't be. Rose won't be that stupid to risk her life like that. Although, Rose is the best guardian I had ever seen. She is the only one I can think of that can kill so many Strigois. If someone can do this, it would be my Roza.

"What? How? Who? When?" I hear Rose say. Wow, it was one of the rare times when Rose was left speechless. "How did you know?" She whispers, so it must be true. Rose is 'The Killer'.

"How did I know what happened with Dimka?" She asks her, that's a very good question that I would love to know the answer to.

"Oh god Yeva you can't tell anyone."

"Of course I won't tell anyone Roza, but please think about staying her, with us. We are your family and your place is with us, you shouldn't risk your life like that."

"Yeva, I don't think that the idea of me and Dimitri at the same house is very good. I'm not very sure I can survive this week. Besides, I'm not going to leave the guys to starve."

"They can stay in Baia too. I know Nicolai will be ecstatic to have his brother back and I know that Artur and Lev's mothers miss them very much. And, there are enough Strigois near Baia. You and the boys don't have to leave again." Although I would much rather that Nicolai will leave, I prefer that he will stay here in Baia if it means that Roza will stay here too.

"I don't know Yeva, I really don't know."

"You know Roza, it wasn't the first time Dimka lied to someone he loves." My face paled. She can't tell her like that! I should be the one to tell her.

"What?" _Please don't answer that grandma. Please just leave it alone._

"I said, it wasn't the first time Dimka lied to someone he loves." She repeats.

"Okay… But why do I need to know this? What does it has to do with me?"

"You know Roza, for a smart girl, you are very stupid."

"Gee, thanks Yeva, I love you too." I hear Roza say. Those last four words made me feel so sad. How much I wish she would say them to me…

I decide that it's too dangerous to leave Babushka with Roza, and that I should put a stop to this conversation before Babushka tells Rose something that she shouldn't hear from her.

I hear Rose mumble something as I walk to the door. I open it and call "Babushka, do you think we can talk for a minute?"

I secure the "guardian mask" as Rose likes to call it on my face, making sure I won't reveal my emotions.

"Umm… I'll go help Olena with lunch, I'm sure she would like some help." Roza says.

After Roza enter the house I sit on the bench next to my grandma.

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**Next chapter Rose will die! Just kidding! I have no idea what will happen next chapter so if someone has an idea I'll be grateful!**

**And, I was thinking about rewriting this story. Should I?**

**P.S.- I want to know, should I let Dimitri suffer a bit longer or should I let him find out that Rose and Denis aren't together?**

**R&R!**


	20. Chapter 18

**Hey!**

**I updated! And pretty soon too!**

**I hope you like ;-)**

**Tal :-***

**P.S.- I owned VA in the past, but a pack of evil Leprechauns stoll it from me!**

**Remember: Leprechauns are evil!**

**(I know I already used that disclaimer, but I really liked it. So deal with it. I think I'll use it regulary...)**

**

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Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 18

***_*DPOV*_***

"Were you really going to tell her?" I ask in a quiet voice, not looking in Babushka's wise eyes.

"She needs to know." She whispers. "But no, I wasn't going to tell her. She shouldn't hear that from me."

"I know." I cover my face with my hands. "What am I going to do Babushka?" I ask.

"Well, for start, you should tell the truth about what happened with Rose to the family."

"That's easier said than done."

"I guess I've mistaken." She says. "I never thought about you as weak."

"I am not weak!" I snap. I'm doing all of this for Roza's own good, she will be better without me in her life. Maybe I should just leave things the way they are. Just let Roza be happy with her life. With Denis. As far as I know, Denis is much better for Roza than I am. He never hurt her. He never drank her blood. So why do I feel sick every time I think of Roza, _My Roza_, with Denis?

"Babushka, Rose is happy with her life. I can't just walk into her life like nothing had happened and ruin her life. Again."

"Why don't you let her decide that? You can't just make the choices for her." Grandma snaps. "First of all, you need to go in there and tell your family the truth. They deserve to know it. You need to tell them that Rose didn't leave you, that she wanted you two to come back and you with all your stupidity told her the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. I can't believe Roza even bought your act. Like it's even possible for a love like this to fade!" I can see Babushka's anger on her face. She is about to say something else when we hear a screech from the door.

"What?" Vika screeches. "Dimitri Belikov! Please tell me that grandma is just kidding!" Vika's eyes were on fire. For an instant I considered the possibility of lying to my sister, but I couldn't see how I can cover what Babushka said.

_You are weak! Stupid, weak and coward! Just tell her the truth! You need to tell her!_ A voice inside of me yells. But what should I tell her? 'Oh. I lied to you for the last five years because I was scared that you'll be mad at me'? Yeah, that will go well.

Babushka gets up from the bench and bends to kiss my cheek. She whispers "tell her", and then she takes her things and walk into the house. I look at my little sister.

"Vika, come sit here." I say.

Viktoria walks over and sit beside me. "Start talking."

I take deep breath. "Listen Vika, you have to understand that this story is complicated. And that you can't intervene in anything. Even if you don't like it."

I look at her and wait for her to agree. When she does I continue. "Do you remember what I told you about my time as a Strigoi?" Vika flinched when I mentioned all the horrible things I've done as a Strigoi. The most terrible of all was how I treated Rose. "All those things I've done to Rose in Novosibirsk?"

Vika nods her head. I take deep breath before I continue with my story.

"When Princess Vasilisa turned me back to a Dhampir, all of those things hunted me, and I couldn't look at Roza without remembering what I've done to her."

"Yes but you got over it right? And then Roza told you that she can't be with you because of what had happened."

"Not really… That's what I told you but that's not what really happened. After the guardians got me back to court, they had putted me in a cell. They didn't know if I was dangerous or not or even if I was still a Strigoi. So when I sat there in the tiny cell, all I could think about was what happened. And I couldn't forgive myself; I knew that I don't deserve Roza. But Roza didn't think like that, she told me that it wasn't my fault and that she forgives me."

"But it really wasn't your fault!" Viktoria yells, already realizing where I'm going with my story.

"So when she came to talk to me at the courts church, we got into an argument and I said something's that I shouldn't have said."

"What things?" Vika glares at me.

"Vika that doesn't really important – "

"It's Viktoria for you." She glares at me, acid dripping from every word. "You will tell me what you said to Roza right now." There was so much anger in her voice that I couldn't refuse her. I look at my feet unable to see her face while I say the next sentence.

"I-I told her 'Love fades. Mine has.'"

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Viktoria snaps. "You told her WHAT?"

"I know it was wrong but I thought it was for the best… I couldn't be with her, not after what I've done."

"And what happened then?"

"And then she just left the church. The day after I was eating breakfast when she walked in the café. She pretended that she didn't see me but then one of my guardians started talking to her about some event and then the guardians came in and Roza tried to defend me but then we realized that the guardians were there for her. They thought that she killed the queen. So I defended her and fought the guardians. But then Roza told me to stop and gave herself up to the guardians and let her take her."

"And the rest you already know. They decided that there will be a trial and I left court." I look at my younger sister. "I swear to god Viktoria, I didn't want to lie to you, I was so ashamed and I didn't know what to tell you."

"So all this time, we were angry at Roza for nothing?" Viktoria's voice was full of anger.

"Yes."

"Vika – Viktoria, I know you probably hate me right now but you can't tell anyone. I need to tell them and I will. I just need some time."

Viktoria sighs. "Dimka, you're my brother. I love you and you may call me Vika. It's just that I can't believe you lied to me like that. You lied to all of us. But the thing that annoys me the most is what you said to Roza. How could you?"

"I don't know Vika, I really don't know…"

"Listen, I won't tell anyone. But you need to tell the truth soon. Especially to Roza."

"I will. I promise." I hug my sister as tight as I can without breaking her ribs. "Thank you so much Vika. I love you." We hug like that for a few minutes, none of us releasing the other. Then we hear the door open and we see Nicolai's head showing from the door.

"The food is ready. I was told to call you."

"We are coming." I say. Vika and I walk over to Nicolai. Vika puts one hand around me and one hand around Nicolai."

"Olena told me that both you and Rose want to talk to me." Nicolai says. "What for?"

"You will see." I say. "You will see."

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**R&R!**


	21. AN 3

**Bad always leads to good**

Hey guys!

Sorry for the delay but I'm kinda stuck… I need some sex advices (and no, not for me, for the story!) and I have none so I need your help!

I'll be so grateful if you'll help me. Just remember to keep it T rated!

Thank you so much and I promise to finish the chapter as soon as I'll have enough advices.

Tal :-*


	22. Chapter 19

**Hi!**

**Thank you soooo much for your help. I'm not quit satisfied with this chapter since I almost finished it and then I got this amazing review that I had to include in the chapter so I'm sorry if you don't like it...**

**Thanks to Dr. Kelly for her amazing advices and she _SHOUD WRITE HER OWN STORY_ instead of letting me steal all of her ideas.  
Also, thanks to someone that I don't know who he/she is that left an anonymous review with a great idea so I had to add it to the chapter.**

**I want to reassure you that there won't be any detailed sex scenes in this story, the sex advices were only for the talk between Rose, Dimitri and Nicolai.**

**I don't know how is it at your freaky country, but here in Israel we got mid-year certification on Wedensday! I got straight A's of course (except of gym, I got D)**

**Love you all!**

**Tal XD**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 19

***_*RPOV*_***

Lunch was weird; Viktoria and Dimitri acted really strange. Every time I told Vika something she looked away and I swear I've seen guilt in her eyes once when she looked at me and then at her brother.

After we all finished eating, Dimitri and I dragged Nicolai outside for a walk while the rest of the family cleared the table.

"Listen Nicolai, I know that you and Vika have been together for six now and that it's probably not very helpful to do this right now, but since I wasn't here for the last six years, you will have to endure the talk now." I tell him.

"Umm… What talk are you talking about?" Nicolai asks. Poor guy, he doesn't know what's waiting for him.

"The big brother/sister talk, of course!" I say and Dimitri nods. "We have a few rules if you want to date our little sister."

"Umm… You guys do realize that Vika and I are dating for six years now, right? And that I'm going to ask her marry me on her birthday?" Nicolai asks, he had started to look afraid when we asked him to go on a walk with us but now he had calmed. Stupid mistake. I guess he thinks that since he and Vika had been dating for six years we won't give him the talk. How wrong he is.

"You are going to ask her to marry her? Why didn't anyone tell me? I could have thought of a lot more new threats." I pout and Dimitri chuckles.

"Why don't you just start your talk and let's get it over with." Nicolai mumbles.

"First of all, I have some rules for you. Guidelines, if you will, for dating my baby sister." Dimitri says with his intimidating voice. Nicolai gulps.

"O-okay."

"My sister had never had a boyfriend before of you. Never. Vika had always been more about school than guys." Dmitri starts. Is he fucking kidding me? Vika had always been more about guys than school, and she had lots of boyfriends before Nicolai.

I burst out laughing. "Where the hell do you live Dimitri? Vika had boyfriends before Nicolai. She was practically like a younger me."

"No she didn't. I would have known if she did. Mama would have told me." He looked like a little child refusing to believe Santa didn't exist.

"Dimitri. When you were at the academy you talked to your family six times a year, only on birthdays. When did you expect them to tell you Vika had a boyfriend?" I ask him. I see Nicolai trying walk back toward the house and pull him between me and Dimitri.

"Where do you think you are going? We are not done with you." I wink at him, enjoying the embarrassed blush on his face.

"I'm sure Dimitri could write down all his rules for you." I tell Nicolai. "I just have one rule: don't ever, EVER hurt Vika. If you do, both I and Dimitri will deal with your sorry ass. And I'm sure Yeva will join too." I deliberately raised one hand and gotten it up in flames. "If she will ever be hurt by you, this will be shoved up your ass. Understood?"

Nicolai just gulps and nods, not taking his eyes off of my hand. I've put the fire out and patted his head. "Smart boy."

"So are we done now?" Nicolai asks hopefully.

"No way. I have one last thing to say and then we will finish the life threats and rules part and will get to the fun part. Not that the life threats wasn't fun." I say.

"And this fun part of the conversation is…" Nicolai asks.

"That's for us to know and for you to find out." I reply.

"Okay, so what do you have to say Roza?" Dimitri looks curious. I have to say that I would be a lot more comfortable if Dimitri wouldn't hear what I have to say, but I know that I need to say that to Nicolai. And if I have to do it while Dimitri is at my side, I will.

"It's not really a rule, more of an advice." I say as my face turn into the guardian mask, trying to hide all these emotions I have inside of me. "Nicolai, I think the world of you and I know Vika thinks the world of you, but don't ever break her heart. You will never know how bad that pain is and you just don't get over it no matter how hard you try." I kept my voice clean of emotions as I spoke. I didn't dare looking at either one of the boys beside me so I just stared straight ahead.

"I will not break her heart. I'll make her happy. I promise." Nicolai whispers. There was this awkward silence between us.

"Well, it's time for the fun part. Since I did most of the talking at the threatening part, I'll let Dimitri start." Actually, I just didn't really know what to say. How can I give sex advices to someone that has obviously had sex more times than I did. I only had sex twice; and the first time was when I was seventeen for fuck's sake.

"Look, I really don't want to know what you are doing with my baby sister in your bedroom so I'm going to imagine that you both are still virgins and you are not going to bust my bubble."

Dimitri, being the Zen Master he truly is, said something that if I heard someone else say it I would be sure he got it out of a lecture about safe sex for high school kids. "If the potential partner, in this case would be Vika, accepts the sexual invitation, foreplay has begun."

I just couldn't pass the opportunity to tease Dimitri and besides, I just can't believe he will talk like that for the whole conversation. I don't think Nicolai will understand anything if Dimitri will keep talking so formally. "Okay, I see that we won't get anywhere if Dimitri will keep talking the way he is, so I'll translate for you."

Dimitri just rolls his eyes. "Accepting the invitation is often indicated by reciprocating with similar behavior."

"Yeah, like if she kisses you back, rubs her body against you or moans your name." I say with a wink. Dimitri has the most grossed out expression on his face, I guess he doesn't really like to think about his baby sister like that.

"Since these interactions are non-explicit, there can be misunderstandings about whether an invitation has been extended and accepted. This kind of miscommunication is often termed 'leading someone on'."

I snorted. "Yeah, you can ask Dimitri everything you want about leading someone on."

Dimitri looks at me in the eyes for a few moments and then turn back to Nicolai, like I hadn't said a thing.

"At some point, foreplay typically becomes physical. Simple and seemingly

innocent acts, such as straightening someone's clothing or hair, bumping into someone while walking, stroking someone's arm, or whispering in someone's ear can constitute foreplay." Dimitri said that without a hint of amusement. Does it mean that he really thinks that foreplay is straightening someone's clothes?

I burst out laughing. "You can be serious. If straightening someone's cloths equals foreplay then I just had some hot foreplay session with Olena. And Viktoria. And Yeva. And Paul too!" After I finally calmed down from my hysterical laughing fit, I leaned toward Dimitri and started straightening his shirt. At the moment my hand touched the bare skin on his neck, warm sparks ran between us as I looked into Dimitri gorgeous brown eyes. I couldn't stop myself from thinking that maybe you _could_ get hot and bothered only from straightening someone's shirts. That depends on who this someone is.

"You see?" I tell Dimitri. "That's not foreplay." And then I turn to Nicolai and say. "Foreplay is a way to warm things up a bit before hopping right into the big things. If you or Vika are doing something that makes you feel hot and bothered, that's foreplay." I sneak a peak at Dimitri's face and see that his eyes have darkened. He also looks deep in thoughts.

Nicolai groans. "I know what foreplay is, Rose." He practically growls. "Why are you giving me this conversation anyway? I know all this stuff."

"Well, actually, there are a few reasons for this conversation." I grin. "First, I wasn't here when you and Vika started dating so I couldn't give you this talk then. Second, I want revenge." I said with an evil grin on my face as I think about my sweet revenge.

"Revenge? Revenge at whom?" Both Dimitri and Nicolai ask at the same time. _Creepy._

"Viktoria and Denis, of course."

"Why? And how can you get revenge at my brother by embarrassing me?"

"Revenge for waking me up. Both Denis and Viktoria should have known better than waking me up. Especially Denis." That will show them for waking me up! Evil bastards.

"And how will that hurt Denis?" Dimitri asks. I could see that he was enjoying the idea.

"I don't know if you've had broken ribs, but it hurts like shit. Especially if you laugh." I laugh evilly. He is so going down. "I'm going to tell him every word of this conversation and watch him squirm in pain."

"Isn't that a bit over the edge?" Nicolai asks. "I don't want him to be in more pain than he is right now. He can't even walk!"

"Oh don't worry. Two years ago, when I broke my ribs, he tickled me 'till I begged him to stop 'cause I'd put some pink hair dye in his shampoo. Of course, after that I'd added some hot sauce to his pancake and this was a beginning of a pretty harsh prank war that lasted for a few months."

Nicolai stares at me open mouthed. "You died his hair _pink_?"

I nod. "I still have pictures; I'll show you back at the house. Besides, after I'd decided he had suffered enough, I'm going to heal him and he would be able to walk again."

Dimitri's eyes bulged out. "You are going to heal him?" He asks.

"Yeah, as soon as my revenge is complete. I've only waited 'till now because I wanted to get my revenge."

"Oh."

"Okay, the whole sex advices thing is not a fun as I thought. And that's your fault Dimitri." I pout. "And I want my revenge so stop being the Zen Master and start making this conversation interesting so I'll have enough material to tease your sister at least until I'll leave."

"When will you leave?" Nicolai asks.

"As soon as Denis is back on two legs. We really need to start going again."

"What?" Dimitri exclaims. "You can't leave before the wedding! Vika will be crushed!" Why do I have the feeling that that's not the only thing that bothers him about my leaving?

"Yeah, and I want Denis to be at the wedding too." Nicolai adds. "He is the only family I've got left."

I think about it for a few minutes. "Okay guys, we won't leave 'till after the wedding." I sigh. "But you've got to stop with the safe sex education and start with the real advices." I tell Dimitri.

He sighs. "Fine, you start." Although he has a frown on his face, I can see his eyes flicker with interest, I wonder if he is going to use the only time we were together as an example. I sure will.

"Well…" I look at Nicolai's face, not wanting to miss his reaction to my advice. "You should be more into pleasing her first. Because if you reach a climax before her, well, it's going to be disappointing." Not that I would know. I smile as I see Nicolai's face redden.

I look at Dimitri, giving him the look that says "you can interfere any time." He just looks at me so I continue. "Find out what turns her on so when you get in the mood-" I was cut off by Dimitri clearing his throat.

"Have something to say, Comrade?" He looks like he is in thoughts. As I turn around to continue, he began to speak.

"You could always do role play," He says. I wonder how it would be to do that with him. I quickly shook those thoughts from my head, Dimitri doesn't love me anymore, and I should just get over it. "You know, to spice things up and-" He was having trouble with his words. Honestly, I can understand, giving your baby sister's boyfriend sex advices is a little awkward, especially is you are as over-protective as Dimitri is. I wonder why he agreed to do this in the first place.

"It would be better for later, not the first time. But, of course, it's not the first time. When was the first time?" I tried to finish the sentence for Dimitri. Both he and Nicolai look uncomfortable now.

Nicolai has a look of utter terror in his eyes, he glance at Dimitri. As if he is afraid that if he'll talk Dimitri will rip his dick off. "N-no." He says. "It's not the first time. We planned it to be on our one year anniversary." He looks so embarrassed!

I thought to how my first time was. Dimitri and I hadn't planned it. It was spontaneous and exciting, and that was not exactly where I expected to make love with him. "Place or time doesn't necessarily matter if you're with someone you love."

Dimitri nods. "Not if it's a public bathroom or something like that." I nod; sex shouldn't be planned but shouldn't be cheap either. "You can make it spontaneous after a fight. Not a big fight, just, you know – let the passion from the fight turn into sexual passion." That is kind of how Dimitri and mine moment happened. Okay, I really need to stop, in a way; I'm reliving my past with Dimitri through this conversation. I think Dimitri notice because he looks at me for a while his guardian mask intact. Although I don't think Nicolai noticed.

"Teasing is also good." Dimitri says, still looking at my face. "It's very fun." I glare at him. He did his fare share of teasing, never letting us go further than kissing until that night in the cabin.

"Find out what her biggest fantasies are. Nothing is sexier than having your fantasy come true." I say, mainly because I want to embarrass Dimitri so he would stop looking at me. "I might be able to help you with that if I ever get it out of her." I add. I have a feeling that if I ever will, Dimitri will have no desire to hear about it. I was pretty sure he passed his limit when he told Nicolai to whisper dirty things in Vika's ears, but not anything freaky or nasty.

We walked in quiet for a few minutes, both me and Dimitri searching our minds for any good tips when we hear someone running behind us.

"Mom said I can take you away from this torture." She breaths heavily. After she calms down, she glares at me and Dimitri and drags Nicolai away.

"We should probably get back to the house," Dimitri says. "Today is Gabriel's birthday party and I'm sure mom needs help."

"Sure, let's go."

We start heading to the house. We had gone pretty far from the house while we were talking to Nicolai.

"So, you're the Killer?" Dimitri looks at me.

_WHAT?_

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Sooo... What do you think?

**R&R!**


	23. Chapter 20

**Hey guys!**

**I'm so sorry for the shortiness, I promise I'll UD soon, I just have to fo to my friend's birthday party and I really wanted to UD before I go.**

**I've published the greatest one-shot in the world! It's about Lissa's thoughts when Rose left in Shadow Kiss and it's called "Lissa's thoughts". Please read and review, it really means a lot to me.**

**I promise I'll UD soon and I love you :-***

**Tal =P**

**

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Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 20

***_*DPOV*_***

There is no way I'm going to let her get away with that. Roza can't risk her life like that, I won't let her.

"What?" She asks, faking innocent.

"You heard me perfectly well," I tell her, "I heard your talk with Yeva, and you can't keep doing this Roza. You'll kill yourself."

Roza glares at me. "I will not," She says. "I've been doing this for five years now and I'm perfectly fine."

"But look at what happened to Denis," I say. I really don't care if Denis hurts himself, what I do care is that he is putting my Roza at risk.

"I already told you I'll heal Denis when I'll see him," she says. "Besides, what I do with my life is none of your business."

"I know that, but don't you see how dangerous it is?" I ask her. At this point I'll be willing to tie her to her bed if I'll think it will prevent her from continuing. "Do you know how worried everyone has been? Do you know how worried Vasilisa has been?"

"Yes Dimitri, I know exactly how worried Lissa has been," She snaps at me. "I can feel it. Which reminds me that I need to suck the darkness out of her again so shut up for a few minutes and let me enter her head." She sends a glare toward my direction before she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

Half a minute later, Roza opens her eyes again with a confused look on her face.

"How is she?" I ask. I hadn't talked to the princess for two weeks, since she and Christian left court for a few weeks so they could travel the world.

"She's excited…" She tells me. "I don't know about what, I couldn't hear it before I left her head, but I can still feel her excitement pulsing through the bond as we speak."

"Is there any other emotion she is feeling right now?" I ask. When Roza left court five years ago, Vasilisa was very depressed, she asked me to find Rose but after two years of searching she told me that if Rose doesn't want to be found, she wouldn't, no matter how hard we try.

"Yes, she also feels sadness and longing… Why would she feel that?" Roza's eyes hold so much hurt and pain, I just want to hold her in my hands and reassure her that everything will be okay.

"I don't know," What would make the princess feel that way? "Why don't we just go home? We can call her and ask her,"

"No! She can't know I'm here!" Roza shouts, "I've ruined her life already, I don't want to do that again. She's better off without me."

"Roza! What are you saying? That's just absurd. Vasilisa hasn't been the same since you left, she will be so happy to see you again. You have to talk to her."

Roza looks at her feet. I put my finger under her chin and make her look me in the eye. There is this heat between us every time I touch her skin, like the world is on fire. "Roza, are you crying?" Her eyes are full of unshed tears and she blinks a couple of times. A tear slides down from her eye, onto her cheek and hits my hand.

"No! I do not cry!"

Rose pulls her face out of my hands and I immediately miss her touch. She turn away and start running.

"Fuck! Roza! Wait, I'm sorry!" I call, but Roza doesn't even slow down. I start running as I hope I'm still faster than her, like when we were in the academy.

But of course, with my luck, Roza is a lot faster than me. It's like she is flying. I can barely see her in front of me. (**AN: Remember: Rose has her super-powers but Dimitri is still faster than normal Dhampirs from the time he was a Strigoi.)**

When she got near the house, she suddenly stopped. She stared at the porch with wide eyes and her mouth hung open. When I was finally able to reach her, I looked at the porch too, trying to realize what made her react like that. What I saw the shocked me.

Vasilisa, Christian, Adrian, Eddie and Mia all stood there, with their backs facing us while Adrian knocks on the door. _What are they doing here?_

"Princess?" I ask.

Lissa sighs, still with her back facing me and Roza. "Dimitri, what did I tell you?" She asks and starts to turn around. "You've got to stop calling m- Rose?"

In a second, Rose was by Lissa's side, hugging her like there was no tomorrow.

"What are you doing here, Liss?" Roza mumbles, still not letting go of Lissa.

Lissa is shaking as sobs burst out of her little body. "Oh Rose! I missed you so much!" She calls. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

I clear my throat. "Maybe we should get inside, it's getting dark out here."

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**Sooooo... What do you guys think? I know it's short and really disappointing and I'm really sorry.**

**Please check out my one-shot, it's called "Lissa's thoughts"**

**R&R!**


	24. Chapter 21

**Hey guys,**

**I know I said I'll UD soon and it took me almost a month and I'm sorry!**

**But look at the bright side, I updated now!**

**I hope you like and thank you so much for your patience and the amazing reviews.**

**Tal :-)**

**

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Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 21

***_* RPOV *_***

Oh. My. God. LISSA?

Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Mia and Adrian stand on the porch of the Belikov's house. Adrian knocks on the door while the rest are standing a few steps behind him.

I feel Dimitri slowing from his run after me, breathing heavily. He stops besides me and stares at the porch with open mouth. I'm sure that both he and I have the same facial expression.

"Princess?" Dimitri asks from beside me.

Lissa sighs. "Dimitri, what did I tell you?" she asks. Her back still facing us. She start turning around and keep talking. "You've got to stop calling m- Rose?"

Her eyes pops out of theirs socket when she sees me. I can feel so many feelings crashing on both her and me through the bond. In a second, she's sobbing in my hands.

Every resolve I've ever had of not letting Lissa know I was here faded away. "What are you doing here, Liss?" I mumble into her hair.

Her whole body shakes with her sobs. I blink my tears back, I have to be strong for her. "Oh Rose! I missed you so much!" She calls. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

I can feel her emotions pulsing through me. My heart's swelling. Five years of no contact except few seconds every week, and ever those few seconds were so I could suck the darkness out of her body, so I couldn't really check how she is.

I hear Dimitri clear his throat. "Maybe we should get inside, it's getting dark out here." He says.

I nod my head and take Lissa's hand, I give it a squeeze and lead her toward the house, when I pass Adrian, Christian, Eddie and Mia I give each of them a hug, never letting go of Lissa's hand.

I open the door and let everyone inside.

"Rose?" Lissa asks.

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been here?"

"Here in Russia or here with the Belikovs?" I ask, although I know what Lissa meant, it will be hard to explain to her that I haven't been here even for three days and she somehow managed to find me without even trying after two years of searching.

"With the Belikovs."

I sigh. "Less than three days. My friend has been hurt and we had to come back to Baia. Then I met Vika, Dimitri's sister, and she brought me here. I moved in with the Belikovs 'till my friends and I will leave Baia again." I hurts me to talk about leaving again, and I know that it hurts Liss too, I can feel it, but I can stay here. I can't just pretend that nothing ever happened.

"W-when? When will you leave?" Liss asks.

"Umm… I'm not sure, at first I planned to leave as soon as Denis, my friend, will heal but then we made a few plans that will make us stay here longer…" I trail off, not sure how to finish my sentence.

We are now all at the living room, my hand still holding Lissa's. We hear the front door open and two sets of footsteps walking in.

"Dimka?" Vika calls. "We saw you run pass us at this incredible speed. Are you here? Where is Roza?"

"We're here, Vika," I call. "Both of us. And we have some guests, why don't you and Nicolai come here and say hello?"

Both Vika and Nicolai come into the living room, holding hands. They stop at the entrance of the room and gaze curiously at the rest of the people in the room.

"Umm… Hello," Vika waves her hands. "I'm Viktoria, Dimitri's sister, but you could just call me Vika." She points at the man beside her. "And this is Nicolai, he's my boyfriend."

I chuckle at Vika's "formal" interdiction, if she knew who the strangers on her couch were she would probably start squealing like a school girl meeting her favorite rock star, clapping her hands and telling everyone things about themselves that even they don't know.

"Vika, those are Vasilise Dragomire," I point at Lissa, whom was scowling because of the use of her full name. "Eddie Castile," I point at Eddie. "Christian Ozera," I point at Christian. "Mia Rinaldi," I point at Mia. "And Adrian Ivashkov." I point at Adrian. "I think I told you about them once." I tell her.

And as expected, Vika explodes. "ONCE? You hadn't shut up about them last time you've been here. It took me hours to convince you that I had fallen asleep to make you stop talking about them!" She then turn to Lissa. "Do you really have a crown-like birthmark on the place where your heart is? That's so cool! Like a tattoo!"

"She defiantly does," Christian smirks at his girlfriend. Or maybe wife? I don't really know. I always thought that I'll be sucked into Lissa's head if she'll get married. I'll have to, right? With all the emotions Lissa will feel.

"But what are you doing here?" I ask. "From what I know, you never came here to Russia."

"Well, usually, Dimitri comes every year to visit us at court on his birthday," Lissa explains.

"But since this year Lissa and I took a few weeks off to explore the world," Christian continues.

"We decided to come visit Dimitri here instead," Lissa smiles at Christian. When we were in school, it always annoyed me when they completed each other's sentences, but after I left, I found out I really missed it. "We planned to come here yesterday, so we could make it to Rosalie's birthday too, but our flight got held out."

"Have you met any of the Belikovs?" I ask. It's obvious that Vika hadn't seen them before, but maybe they have met someone else.

"No," Adrian says. The last time I saw him was when he dream walked into my dream after he found out I was gone, I was in Spokane after a very exhausting day. He asked me to come back but when he saw how hurt I was, he just hugged me 'till I calmed down. I told him that I can't come back, that it's hurts too much, and asked him to stop coming to me in my dreams. "We just talked to them a couple of times on the telephone."

"But why did you come now?" Dimitri asks. "My birthday is to weeks away."

"Well we have few reasons," Christian says. "First of all, we wanted to meet your family, and we wanted to be here in Gabriel and Rosalie's Fifth birthdays. And, we have an announcement to make, and we wanted you all together. Of course we didn't know that Rose will be here."

I can feel excitement pulsing through the bond again. There is no sadness or longing this time. I start jumping in my seat and clapping my hands. "Ohhh. Tell me, tell me, I want to know. It's so exciting!" I say.

Everyone look at me like I just said that I like to eat puppies, I don't know what their problem is. Aren't they excited? I sure am!

"It's because of the bond," Adrian says. "She gets all of Lissa's excitement and confuses it as her own."

_What? No I'm not. I'm just really excited about this announcement._

"Oh, sorry Rose." Lissa says. Then, I can feel myself calm down slowly. With one last giggle, I stop bouncing in my seat. _So it was because of Lissa._

"Why did that just happen?" I ask. "It never happened before."

"Lissa, did you just tried to block Rose from the bond?" Adrian asks.

"Yes, I didn't want her to get into my head and find out before everyone."

"Then I think that's the reason why that just happened. You were so excited and you couldn't block the bond completely, and since Rose couldn't enter you head her body mistook your feelings as hers."

"Oh. Sorry Rose."

"So what's this big announcement you want to tell us?" Eddie asks. He sits on the single couch with Mia_ on his lap?_ I guess I was so occupied with Lissa I hadn't noticed that. I study Mia with my eyes. She's practically glowing. When my eyes rest on her belly, I see a little bump there. Nothing that a normal Dhampir or even Moroi could see, I can just because of my heightened eyesight.

_I can't believe it! Mia is PREGNANT? _Does she know it yet? Does anyone else? I don't think that even she does. I guess I can just know because of my power, Mason did say I'll have other powers I'll have to find out about alone. Maybe intuition is one of them.

"We're getting MARRIED!" Lissa says.

_WHAT? No way! I would have felt that if Christian proposed, wouldn't I? Lissa would be so excited, I would have to get sucked into her head._

"Lissa, did you block me from the bond when Christian proposed?" I ask after everyone are finished with their blessing.

"No, why would I?"

"Because I didn't feel it at all, and I should have." I tell her. "When did he propose?"

"Four days ago," She says. Oh. Now I get it. Four days ago was the fight with the Strigois at the club, when I first got my powers. "We called Olena and asked her if it would be a problem if we come here and then we called Adrian, Eddie and Mia and told them to meet us." Her face is now worried. "Rose? Why couldn't you feel it? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah Liss, stop worrying, everything if okay. I was just fighting four days ago so I was probably too occupied to feel your excitement."

"Fighting? Why were you fighting? Oh Rose, are you okay? You weren't hurt, right?"

_Okay, no need to make her panic, I'll just edit my story a bit… _"Umm… I went to a club with my friends but a few Strigois found us. Denis was hurt but he'll be okay."

"Denis? The one you met last time you were here in Russia?" Lissa asks.

"Yeah, he's Nicolai's brother."

"Rose, can I ask you something?" Vika asks. Both she and Nicolai are sitting one two chairs they brought from the kitchen.

"Sure Vika, what's up?" I ask.

"How did you get here so fast? We saw Dimka run to the house so fast we could have missed him if we blinked but we didn't see you."

"Umm… I ran before Dimitri, I guess you did blink when I passed you." I try to joke.

"That's impossible, no normal person can run that fast, even Dhampirs."

"You're right, but you forget that I'm not normal. I have my powers, remember?"

"Powers? What powers?" Mia asks.

"Umm… It's a long story how I got them, but to sum it up, I have heightened senses, incredible speed and strength, and I can control all six elements." There is no way I'm telling them how I got my powers, Lissa will wring my neck if she knew.

"Six elements? There are only five." Lissa says. "And no one can control them all, he'll go crazy with all that magic."

"Well, I can. And there are six elements," I tell her and then raise my hand. "Water," I summon a ball of water. "Fire," The ball of water disappears and instead I light my whole arm on fire, then I wink at Nicolai, to remind him of my threat. "Air," I suffocate the fire on my arm with my air. "Earth," I move my hand toward the window and make a few rocks float for a few seconds before falling back to the ground. "Spirit," Then I look at everyone in the room. "Who wants me to cut him so I could heal him?" I ask, when no one answers I shrug my shoulders and continue to the last element. "And darkness." I summon a ball of darkness. Then, I make the darkness warp around Christian's chair and float it in the air.

"Ahhh! Rose! Stop it! Put me down!" Christian shouts.

I giggle and make him fall off the chair, then, I catch him with the darkness again before he could hit the floor. Lissa screams so I put him gently back on the floor and put the chair in its place.

"Rose! That wasn't funny!" Lissa says. "You could have hurt him!"

"No, I couldn't have. I know what I'm doing Liss." I tell her.

"Apologize to Christian." She says.

"Never!" I scream dramatically. I don't mind apologizing, but I just want to annoy Christian a little more.

"Roza? What were all those screams?" Olena walks into the living room. "Oh. You must be Lissa, I'm so sorry I didn't prepare for you, it just blew out of my mind," She says. "With Rose here and all."

"That's okay, we understand," Christian says, still lying on the floor. "I'm Christian."

"I'm Olena. Umm… If you don't mind me asking, why are you on the floor?"

"No reason," I jump. "No reason at all." Then I get up and help Christian sit back on his chair.

"Rose made him fall from the ceiling with her darkness." Mia smiles at Olena. "I'm Mia, it's nice to meet you."

"Hello Mia, it's nice to meet you too." Olena smiles back. Then she turns to me. "Rose, why did you drop Christian?" She asks.

I wide my eye and pout. Olena is a sucker for my puppy face. "I just wanted to show them my new powers," I say innocently. "I didn't mean to drop him, it was an accident. But I saved him before he hit the floor." Olena's face soften a bit. "You know I'm new at this." I make some tears show in my eyes. "I'm so sorry Christian." I turn my face toward him and smirk when Olena can't see. "Will you forgive me?"

"Whatever," Christian mumbles.

I smile at him. "Thank you Chrissie! You're the best!" I can see Dimitri, Eddie, Mia, Vika, Nicolai. Adrian and Lissa try to hold their laughter. Christian scowls.

I turn back to Olena. "Olena, these are Adrian and Eddie," I tell her.

"It's very nice to meet you," She says. "I would love to stay here and chat but I have a cake in the Oven." She waves and walks out of the room.

Now I have both of my families here, Abe, Denis, Artur and Lev a supposed to come her later, _and_ Olena is baking a cake. This day can't get any better.

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**R&R!**


	25. Chapter 22

**Hey guys!**

**Don't kill me! I've been working so hard on this chapter - you have no idea. I just started another month full of exams and I'm freaking out. Also, I'm sick and feel like shit.**

**Anyway, I hope you like and please review, last chapter I didn't get a lot of reviews and it really got me down... :'-(**

**Tal :-***

**

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Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 22

Gabriel's birthday party was a blast, after Denis, Artur, Lev and Abe came to the Belikov's house and met the gang, I couldn't separate them from each other. Apparently they heard so much about them from me, they had to get to know them.

Another plus to this party, was that no Strigoi was present.

After Karolina and Sonya put Rosalie, Gabriel and Paul to bed, Denis signaled me with his head to come talk to him outside.

***_* FLASHBACK *_***

"Hey honey, what's up?" I ask Denis as I walk out of the door. He's sitting on his wheelchair on the porch and I walk over and sit on the bench beside him.

"Nothing, I just wanted to know how you're holding up, with living in the Belikov house, and now you're friends showing up…"

"Oh, I manage," I shrug my shoulders. "How about you?"

"I'm fine," He winks at me. "I have no one to throw me from MY bed in the middle of the night," but then Denis sighs and take my hand. "But I miss you, the food without you tastes like crap," he laughs. "And Lev almost burned my place twice."

I feel bad for Denis, but he has to learn his lesson! I bet he won't ever wake me up without a VERY good reason after I tell him what happened with his brother.

"You poor baby," I pout and say with my most sickly sweet and fake voice. "But I have something to cheer you up, I've talked with your brother today…"

"Really?" Denis raises his eyebrow, _Dammit! Can everyone do it except me? Or is it just s Russian thing?_ "Pray tell."

***_* END OF FLASHBACK *_***

So, I told Denis everything that had happened with Nicolai, and he was in tears. I'm not sure if it was from the pain or from what I told him, but tears none the less.

He begged me to stop until I took pity on him and healed him. He was so angry that I did it only after I told him of the conversation with Nicolai that he started chasing me.

I ran back into the house and hid behind Olena. "Olena, please help me! Denis wants to hurt me!" I said with the most childish voice I had.

"You'll pay for this Rosie! Even if it's the last thing I'll do!" Denis called. Then he got threatened by Sonya and Carolina that said that if he'll wake up their children they'll hang him on the tree outside.

"What did you do, _Rosie_?" Christian asked, obviously teasing me about the Rosie part. In a second, I was in front of him.

"Call me Rosie again and I'll make sure you won't be able to go at it like rabbits with Liss ever again, understood?"

"Rose," Lissa groaned, both with embarrassment and anger because of what I said.

"But Denis called you Rosie," Christian pouted, he always enjoyed calling me Rosie and see me blow my top off, and I guess he was shocked when I didn't do anything to Denis.

"Denis and the kids are the only ones allowed to call me whatever they want. If he wants to call me Rosie, he can." I said with finality.

"Why?" Adrian asked.

"Because I said so." I wasn't going to tell them he started to call me like that to sooth me when I cried because of Dimitri. After all, Rose Hathaway does not cry.

"So, now that Denis is back on two legs, I can go back to my own bed, right?" I looked at Olena. "I remember how it's like to sleep at the same bed with Vika, and I don't fancy being kicked."

Olena looked reluctant to let me move out of the house before I even slept there, since I passed out last night, but she nodded. "I guess so,"

I nod. "Denis honey, would you go upstairs and get my stuff? I'm pretty tired," I asked with my sweetest voice, praying he isn't still mad about my revenge.

"Actually Rosie, you can't come back. Our rental contract is over, we're moving in with Nicolai tonight. He talked to me when we got here, and he's going to propose to Vika tonight," I quickly looked around me, searching for Vika to make sure she didn't hear, "He said he wants me here at the wedding and that he don't want to wait a month 'till Vika's birthday. He'll move in to Vika's room if she says yes and we'll move in to his place."

"REALLY?" I blow. "He's proposing TODAY? Where are they, anyway? I didn't notice they were gone."

"Nicolai asked Vika for a date after the party. They left when you and Denis were outside." Abe told me.

"Oh, so where would I sleep? If Nicolai is moving in to Vika's room?" Because, of course Vika will say yes. Then I look at Lissa, "Where are you guys staying?"

"We got three rooms from the hotel near here." Adrian said. "One for Liss and Chris, one for Eddie and Mia, and one for me and Jill."

"Oh, so maybe I can stay with you Adrian, since-" _Wait. Did he just say that JILL is here? And that he is sharing a room with her?_ "JILL? As in Lissa's sister Jill?" I asked. "She's here?"

"Yes, her flight got delayed so she'll be here in a few hours." Mia answered.

"And you're together?" I asked Adrian.

"Yes."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence before I blew. "YAY! I'm so happy for you! She's so nice!" I jumped at Adrian's lap and gave him a big hug. "You better treat her well, Ivashkov!"

Adrian laughed. "Don't worry Little Dhampir, I will."

I got off Adrian's lap and sat in my seat. "So where would I sleep?"

"Well, Sonya and Carolina are sleeping with their kids, Vika is with Nicolai and you can't sleep with either Denis or your friends, so the only room available is Dimitri's."

"WHAT?" Denis and I called at the same time. "I don't think it's such a good idea. Maybe now since I'm not in cast…"

"Give it a rest, both you and Rose don't have enough space in your bed even without your cast, and Nicolai's bed is smaller." Lev said. "You just don't want Rose in other guy's bed, you've become greedy."

"Shut up Lev," Denis grunted. "I really don't like this idea."

"Neither do I." I said.

"Well, I'm sorry Roza," I flinched when Olena called my Roza, "But it's the only solution I see, Dimitri has a double bed. You already know the room, you slept there last time you stayed here."

I looked around the room, trying to find someone to feel sorry for me. While we waited for Denis, Artur, Lev and Abe to come over, I told the gang not to mention how things ended between Dimitri and I. They all looked at me with pity, but kept their mouths shut.

"Fine," I grunted.

So right now, I'm in Dimitri's room, putting my clothes in the space he cleared for me in his wardrobe. Since I'll be staying here 'till the wedding, I'm kinda stuck here for a long time.

I just can't believe that Olena set me up like this! I know she could have offered me to stay in her room, I know she would have. I don't understand why she would do something like that to me. Yeva told me that they think that I don't deserve Dimitri after "what I did". So why would she offer me to sleep in his bed?

"We're getting M-A-R-R-I-E-D-!-!-!" Viktoria screeches when she enters the house. I take a deep breath, and get out of the room to congratulate her.

"Wow Vika, that's awesome! I'm so happy for you!" I call and scoop her in a bone crushing hug. "I already got my things out of your room so Nicolai can go put his things there."

"Where would you sleep? Nicolai told me Denis, Lev and Artur are moving to his place."

"Umm… Actually, the only room available is Dimitri's…"

"Oh,"

"Yeah…"

"So, have you heard about the festival coming soon?" Vika asks. "Kolya told me he made you promise to stay at least 'till the wedding. It's one of the reasons he proposed early, so you could be here for me and Denis could be here for him."

"What festival?"

"The Black Moon festival! It happens every four years, every time a different family from our village is chosen and has to choose a female family member or a female guest that resident with the chosen family." Vika says. "The person has to participate in all kinds of tasks to check how god he is at all kinds of things, like fighting, cooking, dancing, sewing, singing and all kinds of other things, mom's sister was a festival's hero, and she passed almost all the tasks, except the last task. No one has managed to pass the last one, ever."

"Hero? What do you mean?" That's a very interesting festival, I wonder what's the last task is, and why it's so hard to pass it.

"It is how we call the person that participate the festival. Aunt Sasha was the festival's hero sixteen years ago."

"That's really cool. When is this festival?"

"It starts next Sunday and continues for a few weeks. It depends on the tasks since every festival is different. There is never the same task twice. So will you come?"

"Sure, that sounds awesome!"

"And you'll stay 'till the wedding right?" Vika gave me her puppy dog eyes. How can someone say no to this face?

"Of course I will!" I coo at her. "But we will have to leave right afterwards."

"What? And you won't come to mine and Christian's wedding, Rose? I just found you, please don't leave." Lissa pleaded. What have I got myself into?

"I'm sorry Liss, but we can't stay any longer than that. Will you two marry here in Russia?" I ask. If they'll marry here before Vika's wedding I could be there. I'm guessing it will take Lissa more time to plan her wedding than Vika since Vika always wanted a small wedding and Lissa is the last Dragomire princess.

"We thought about marrying at court, but I guess we could hurry things up a bit and make it here…" Lissa has tears in her eyes; she looks at Christian for confirmation. I can see the sacrifice she is making just so I could be at her wedding.

"Liss… You shouldn't change your plans," I tell her.

"No, I want to. You being in the wedding is more important to me than a fancy, big wedding at court."

"I know Liss, but you shouldn't compromise. It's your wedding and of course I'll be there. Even if it means coming back to court." I sigh. "We will leave after Vika's wedding. I'm guessing it won't take more than two months. And I'll come to court for your wedding. Unless you want me to come earlier and help you plan your wedding?" I ask.

"Oh, Rose. Will you?" I smile at the sight of the grin she's carrying on her face.

"It's the least I can do Liss," I hug her tightly. "When do you want the wedding to happen?"

"I thought maybe we'll take a year to plan the wedding. Is it okay with you?"

"If it's okay with you, it's okay with me." I tell her. "When do you want me to get to court?"

"Umm… Maybe two months before the wedding. Oh Rose, thank you so much! You have no idea how important it is to me."

"Actually, I think I kinda do, if you won't calm down a bit I'll start jumping in my seat again." I laugh.

"Okay guys, I think it's time we all go to sleep. It's already the middle of the night." Olena says.

"Where are your guardians?" I ask Adrian.

"They are guarding the house outside. I should go call them."

"Okay guys, I should probably get into the shower, since I passed out before I could do that."

"Passed out? Why?" Eddie asks.

"Umm… It's a long story, I'll tell you tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure,"

I kiss everyone goodbye and watch them leave, Denis wheeling Artur on his chair since Artur and Lev wheeled Denis everywhere for the last two days.

I sigh. "I'm going to take a shower."

I thank god every day for inventing the amazing thing called shower. Or more amazing – bath.

I wipe the steams off the mirror and look at myself, these five years has done well to my body. Five whole years of pure exercise has built my muscles but since I like my chocolate donuts so much, I kept my perfect figure and have curves in all the right places.

_Oh no! I forgot to take my clothes! Shit!_

I wrap myself in a towel and tip-toe to Dimitri's room, praying he is not in there. For my unusual good luck, he is not in the room.

I get in and close the door after me. To walk all the way back to the bathroom will be just pushing my luck. I take the towel off and put my black lacy bra and panties on.

I star looking for my short and tank-top I usually sleep in, I remember I put it somewhere in this wardrobe, but I just can't find it.

I hear the door knob turn around and before I can cover myself, Dimitri is in the room.

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	26. Chapter 23

**Hey guys...**

**I'm so sorry for the long wait... I have major writers block so I tried rereading my story and I noticed that my writing really sucks (how can you deal with it?) and got even more depressed...**

**Anyways, after my laptop got kidnapped by the cutest jerk ever (Do you know what I had to sacrifice in order for him to give it back?)(Not that I mind****ed ;-P), having to clean my house spotless (long story, not happy) and a very tiring night of babysitting, I'm glad to publish the next chapter of 'Bad Always Leads To Good'!**

**Enjoy ;-)**

**Tal ;-***

**Disclaimer: My name is not Richelle and I'm not rich. Enough said.**

**PS: Read the AN in the bottom.**

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**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 23

***_* DPOV *_***

As everyone left after Gabriel's party and Roza got into the shower, I helped Ma with the dishes.

"So, Dimka, how are you dealing with everything?" Ma asks.

"Fine," I grunt. I can't remember how many times I had to answer that question since Roza got here, and it has only been two days!

"Dimka, if you don't feel comfortable with Rose sleeping in your room I can make other arrangement," Mom says. "It's just that… When you told me you still love Rose, I promised you I'll help you. But I can't help but worry that she'll hurt you again." I look down on the floor, ashamed in myself. Why can't I act like a man and confess? "When I saw how devastated you were when you first got here… It broke my heart. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Roza like a daughter. It's just that… I'm not sure you should get back with her after she hurt you so much…"

What have I done? I can't let this continue. My family (with the exception of Babushka and Vika) thinks the love of my life is unworthy to me! And it's all because I'm too coward to tell them the truth! "Roza didn't hurt me, Ma." I say. "I'm the one who should –"

"Don't you dare blame this on yourself, Dimka!" Mom cuts me before I can finish my sentence. "None of this is your fault. What you did when you were Strigoi was not in your control and Roza should have known that."

Just then, before my mom could continue, Sonya calls "Mom, can you come here for a second? I think I broke the washing machine! I don't know what happened, I pressed the button and bubbles started pouring from the machine and it started making odd noises!"

Mom sighs. "I better go help her before she could really break the machine. She was never good at doing laundry."

And with that, I was left alone in the kitchen, the words stuck in my throat.

"Dimka, would you mind going up to your room and bring me my book? I think I left it there." Babushka calls.

"Of course, Babushka." I sigh and start walking toward my room. When did she leave her book in my room? Why would she? She's barely in my room anyway.

I suppress a yawn. I'm so tired. I barely slept last night because I was too nervous after Roza passed out and most nights I have nightmares anyways so I really hope that at least tonight I would be able to sleep properly although there is a very slim chance that would happen since I will be sharing my bed with Roza not two feet away from me. _I just hope Roza would get out of the shower soon so I could get in and then finally get some much needed sleep._ I think as I get into my room.

Apparently, I don't have to wait much, since Roza is already in my room… In her black bra and panties… WOW she looks hot!

As I stand there, gaping at the perfection in front of my eyes like a fish, I can't help but wonder how many times my mom dropped me on my head when I was a baby, to make me such an idiot. _How can I leave such goddess as Roza? How could I tell her that I didn't love her? That my love had faded?_

Those thoughts run through my head, and not only because Roza is standing in front of me half naked. Seeing her like that, seeing her body like that, it brought back a lot of old memories that I tried not to think of for five whole years. Memories I didn't want to remember, but I also didn't want to forget.

_See something you like?_ Roza's voice eco in my head, as I remember that night when I caught her in the deserted lounge in a similar black bra, with that obnoxious boy, Jesse Zeklos.

"_Do you think I'm pretty?"_ Roza's voice haunted me for so many nights, ever since she asked me that question at the night of the lust charm.

Memories, so many memories, attacked me at once. Memories from the night of the lust charm, memories from our kisses in the gym, memories from the night in the cabin…

And then, one after another, disgusting, revolting memories attacked me. Memories from the time I was Strigoi, and held Roza prisoner. Memories of drinking from her, of Roza begging me for sex, of me acting like she was my fucking pet…

"Dimitri would you get the fuck out so I could put some clothes on? Stop gaping at me like a fucking fish and GET OUT!" Roza yells, snapping me out of my haze.

"Ah? Umm… Yeah, err I'm sorry, I should probably get out now so umm sorry." I stutter like the idiot that I am and get out of the room before I could embarrass myself even more, if that is possible.

As I lean on the wall, waiting for Roza to finish getting dressed so that I could get my things and get in the shower, Babushka goes up the stairs, stopping in front of me briefly just to give me a quick kiss on the cheek and whisper 'You're welcome' before walking into her room.

'You're welcome'? Does it mean she intended for me to walk in on Roza getting dressed? Well, apparently yes.

Roza finally opens the door. "You can come in now, I'm done." She says.

"Roza, I'm sorry," I pause for a second. "About before… I didn't know you would be out of the shower and-"

"It's okay Dimitri." Roza cuts me before I could finish my sentence. "I should have locked the door."

We stand there in awkward silence for a few minutes. "Roza I-"

"Dimitri, stop." Roza cuts me again. "My name is Rose."

"Roza…"

"Rose." She growls.

"No." I growl back. "For me, you'll always be my Roza."

"I. AM. NOT. YOUR. ROZA." She has a murderous look on her face. "Only people that love me can call me Roza! You don't!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

And in a second, my lips were on hers. I didn't think, I just needed to be close to my Roza, to the love of my life, which, just two seconds ago, was screaming at me like there was no tomorrow.

Roza froze against my body but I didn't let go. After a few seconds her body melted against mine and she kissed me back. "Roza," I breathe against her lips.

I feel like my heart is about to burst, I have the women I love back in my arms and we are kissing right now. I lick her bottom lip, asking for entrance, and just when I think everything has started going right in my life, I get slapped in the face. Literally.

The stinging sensation lingers on my cheek and I'm pretty sure I already have a red mark at the size of Roza's hand.

"You should get in the shower Dimitri." Roza says with the coldest voice I'd ever heard her use. I shiver just from hearing it.

"Err yeah… I'll just… Yeah…" _Idiot! What did you think? That she'll just forgive you? How do you know she even loves you? You DON'T! She's probably happy with Denis and just feels sorry for you! _I scream at myself.

I take my clothes quickly and get in the shower, my lips still tingling and my cheek still stinging.

When I get out of the shower fifteen minutes later, Roza is already asleep. I sigh quietly, so that I wouldn't wake her up and slid into bed with her, preparing for another night of terror like I had every night in the last five years.

***_* RPOV *_* **

I lay in Dimitri's bed with my eyes closed as I feel him slid into bed with me. I can't wait for him to finally fall asleep so that I wouldn't have to pretend to be sleeping. I know there is a very slim chance I'll get a lot of sleep tonight, especially after what happened before.

I can't believe him! Does he think it's funny, to play with my feelings like that? Doesn't he know how it tears me inside when I look at him and know that he doesn't love me anymore? And then he comes, and yells at me that he loves me just because he was horny after seeing me in my bra and panties!

And the worst part is how stupid I am! For a moment there, I really believed that he loves me, like I love him. But then, reality slapped me in the face. And I slapped Dimitri.

Oh god, I can't believe I slapped him! I mean, he deserves it, after all the heartache I want through because of him, but I know it's not his fault. You can't choose who you love. Or in his case, who you don't love.

I can feel Dimitri turning in bed for at least an hour and a half before he fell asleep, I guess I'm not the only one that can't sleep tonight.

I get out of bed and walk around the room, trying to find something to do.

_I bet that if I'll try reading one of Dimitri's boring western novels, I'll fall asleep in a second._ I think.

So, I took a book off of his book shelf. On the cover there was a picture of a man with a long gun on a horse. Under the picture was written 'Riders of the Purple Sage' I look at the publishing date and my eyes pop out. 1912. This book is freaking old!

I roll my eyes and open the book. Surely I'll be asleep in no time.

Thanks to my heightened, I could see the words perfectly good even in the dark. So I stele back in bed and flipped the pages 'till I get to the first chapter.

Well, I was wrong. This book is awesome. And this comes from someone that hates reading. I can see now why Dimitri loves his western books so much.

The book tells the story of Jane Withersteen and her battle to overcome her persecution by members of her LDS church, a leader of which, Elder Tull, wants to marry her.

I got so fascinated by the book, I didn't even notice the time passing. Reading was never one of my hobbies and I couldn't believe I would get do transfixed by a book.

I only noticed how much time had passed when I heard Dimitri moan, It wasn't a moan full with lust and desire, like before, it was a moan full of fear and misery. I look at the clock and notice it's already two in the morning.

"Roza," Dimitri moaned. "No, please, no. Roza." He started trashing in the bed.

"Dimitri," I whisper, shaking him slightly. "Dimitri wake up. It's just a dream."

But Dimitri kept trashing and moaning. I couldn't stand seeing him like that. I stood up and walked to his side of the bed, shaking him more forcefully.

"Dimitri please wake up," I say. "Dimitri, it's just a dream. Wake up." I say louder this time.

And then, he calms down. "Roza?" He asks groggily, and I didn't even had the will to correct him, to tell him to call me Rose.

"I'm here Dimitri. Are you okay?" I whisper. I couldn't help but to stroke his face.

"What?" He swallowed loudly. "What happened?"

"You had a nightmare. You kept trashing in bed a moaning so I woke you up."

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry Roza I'm sure you're tired and I-"

"You didn't wake me up, Dimitri." I cut him. I sit on the edge of the bed, on his side, and take his hand. "Do you want to tell me about your nightmare?" He shakes his head.

"Okay," I say. "You don't have to. Just know that if you want to tell me, I'm here."

"Thanks." Dimitri says, and then he frowns. "So if I didn't wake you, what were you doing?"

"Oh, I read one of your book. Figured out I'll fall asleep from boredom." I chuckle.

"You read my book? Which one?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Riders of the Purple Sage."

"Really? It's my favorite." Dimitri smiles.

"It's okay," I wink at him. "Didn't fall asleep yet."

"Got you hooked up, didn't it?"

"Maybe," There is no way in hell I'll ever tell Dimitri Belikov that one of his western books is good. Not after all the times I teased him about it.

Dimitri suppressed a big yawn. "You should go back you sleep," I say. I can see the wary in his eyes.

"I'm fine, why don't you try to sleep? You must be tired."

I sigh. "Move a bit," I can't believe I'm going to do this.

"What?"

"I said, move you big ass to the side and make me some room on the bed."

"But-" Dimitri looks at the other side of the bed, where I laid before.

"Look, Dimitri, I'm still mad at you," I say. "But I know you won't be able to fall asleep now if you'll be alone. So as long as you keep your hands in their right places there shouldn't be a problem."

Dimitri moved a bit to the side, giving me enough room to slide in next to him. I put my arms around him and he immediately puts his head on my chest, just above my heart and wraps his hands around me too.

"Sleep now," I whisper, and in a second, we both fall asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

**AN:**

**I want to thank the amazing Olivia for coming up with the kiss idea. (Although I was the one that came up with Rose slapping Dimka.**

**So, what do you think of Rose and Dimitri? Aren't they cute?**

**R&R!**


	27. Chapter 24

**Okay, so it took me some time but a lot happens in this chapter... We even have both R and D POVs!**

**Hope youenjoy and tell me whatcha think...**

**Tal =P**

**PS - Read AN in the bottom :-)**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 24

***_* RPOV *_***

I wake up with Dimitri's hands still around my body, and his head still on my chest. I am very comfortable this way, and still very tired. I look at the clock on the bedside table and see it is only 5:30 AM. I don't want to get up yet but since I hadn't gone for my usual morning run in two days, I know I have to.

I try to move Dimitri's hands from around me without waking him up, but at the moment I started moving he crushed me impossibly close to his body, not letting me go no matter what I did.

"Roza, please forgive me. Please." He mumbled. "Don't leave me, I need you."

My heart ached when I heard the words leave him mouth. He said them in such a pleading way; it tore my heart to pieces. I guess missing another morning run wouldn't hurt me, right? Not with my new super speed.

I put my hands back around him in a protective way. "I'm here Dimitri, I won't leave you." I whispered in his ear. There is no way I would have said it to his face, that's for sure, but when he's unconscious, I can't see the need to hide my feelings. Because, although I'm mad at him, I'm still in love with Dimitri Belikov. "I love you." I whisper.

I close my eyes and fall asleep for the second time today, with Dimitri in my arms.

***_* Bad Always Leads To Good *_***

"Aww look at them. They are so cute!" I hear someone's voice say.

"Maybe we should let them sleep a bit more. They look tired." Another voice says.

"Yeah, I'm not too keen about waking Roza up again." The first voice, which now I recognize as Vika's, whisper. "I think Nicolai will pass out if he'll have to have another talk with both Roza and Dimka."

"It doesn't seem like you've learnt your lesson, since you're doing it again." I say, startling both Vika and Karolina.

"Oh Rose, You're up. Did we really wake you? I'm sorry." Vika says. She looks at me with her puppy dog eyes. "We just came to tell you that breakfast is ready."

I laugh. "Don't worry Vik, I won't punish you this time. But just because I'm starving, so don't expect me to be so forgiving the next time."

Karolina laughs loudly at Viktoria's horrified face, waking Dimitri up in the process. I quickly unwarp my hands from around him.

"What's going on?" He asks groggily.

"Breakfast is ready," I announce. "I'm surprised you didn't wake up earlier. What if it was a Strigoi that walked into the room, and not your sisters?" I tease him.

"Hey!" He frowns. "I didn't get a lot of sleep lately, I was tired." The look on his face makes me want to reach out and try to iron the wrinkles on his forehead. A beautiful face like his should be smiling all the time.

"Whatever," I grumble as I get out of bed, immediately missing the feeling of Dimitri's body on mine. "I'm starving."

I brush my teeth quickly, getting rid of the bad taste in my mouth and walk down the stairs. My mouth starts salivating as soon as I hit the last step on the stairs and get assaulted by the amazing smell of breakfast. Not just any breakfast, but _Olena's breakfast_. I think those two words can explain why I start rubbing my tummy like a three year old child and saying things like "Oh. My dear old friend. How I missed you, Bacon!"

***_* DPOV *_***

After breakfast, Roza locked herself in the bathroom, taking an hour long bath. She got out of the bathroom just as I walked out of my room. This time, unfortunately, fully dressed.

"Hey," She mumbles and walks into the room I just walked out of.

I sigh and shake my head. What am I going to do? Roza wouldn't look at me for more than two seconds, especially not after what happened last night.

So, I walked to Babushka's room. I have some unfinished business with her.

I knock on Babushka's door quietly. "Come in, Dimka." She calls. It's usually like that; she just knows when someone wants to talk to her. It really freaked me out when I was younger.

"Hello," I say as I walk into the room. "I know you know why I came here."

"Of course I do." She smiles mysteriously.

"And are you going to explain?"

"What should I explain? I thought it was quite obvious." She smiles again.

"Why did you do it?" I ask.

"Well," Babushka gets up from the chair she sat on and stands in front of me. "I knew you and Roza wouldn't talk if I didn't give you a push to start. It was a bonus that she got to slap you. Maybe it fixed something in your head and you finally understood that you need to tell everyone the truth." She cupped both of my cheeks with her hands, and after a few seconds released them.

"This is the only answer I'm going to get from you, isn't it?"

"You're a smart man, Dimka." She winks. "Now, go help your mom in the kitchen. I'm sure Roza wouldn't mind if you'll bake black bread again."

I nod. "Thank you, Babushka."

My hand is already on the doorknob when she speaks again. "Dimka, things with Roza will freeze for a while, but you need to promise me you won't give up on her." She says. "She needs some time."

***_* Next Sunday *_***

So, it has been a few days, and things with Roza hadn't changed. She still acted nice to me near my family and still ignored me when we were alone. Somehow, every morning Roza and I woke up cuddled. And every time, she would untangle herself from my hands and act like it didn't happen.

I sigh as I take a jeans and a simple black T shirt and put it on. Roza is right now in Vika's room, helping her to get ready to the black moon festival which starts in an hour and a half.

I lay back on the bed, my shoes on the floor beside it. I get my worn out copy of 'Riders of the Purple Sage' and settle down to read. The book has always been my favorite but ever since Roza told me that 'It's okay', I took a liking to reading it again.

I drowned deeper and deeper in the storyline that I didn't even notice the time passing. I only noticed it has been two hours since I started reading when Sonya knocks on my door.

"Yes?" I call.

Sonya just shoves her head inside of my room, while her body still stands outside of the doorframe. "Viktoria says that she and Rose are finally ready to go. Are you coming with us to the festival?" She asks.

"Of course I am." I close my book and put it on the bedside table on my side of the bed and then slip off the bed and put my shoes on. "Let's go."

As we descend the stairs I notice than neither Vika nor Roza is down in the living room, which means they are still getting ready upstairs in Vika and Nicolai's room.

"VIKTORIA JANE BELIKOV," Ma yells toward the general direction of the stairs. "If you're not down here in five seconds I'm sending Dimka to come and get you!" Then takes another deep breath in, to help her yell louder. "And bring Roza with you!"

"I thought Vika said they are finally ready?" I ask. Didn't Sonya tell me that not a few minutes ago?

"They were. Until Vika saw that we are wearing the same colors, so she dragged Roza back up to help her change." Karolina explains and rolls her eyes. "I feel bad for Roza, having to go through this torture for so long."

I just nod my head. _Couldn't agree with you more,_ I think. When my sister is excited about something there is nothing that could stop her. And now with the wedding and all it's going to be a nightmare.

"Why is she so excited?" I ask. "She has been to the festival before."

"She's going to announce the engagement to every person she's going to see today at the festival. She wants to look her best when she does that." Sonya explains.

"Oh."

So, after another fifteen minutes of waiting, Vika comes skipping the stairs, dragging Roza after her. My eyes immediately drawn to Roza. She wore tight jeans and black tight T shirt which hugged her curves perfectly. I couldn't help but notice how her ass looks in those jeans and how this tight shirt emphasizes her chest.

"Where are Liss and the rest?" Roza asks. "Aren't they coming?"

"Oh don't worry honey," Ma waves her hand dismissively. "I told them we will meet them there. It would have been a shame if they would have missed the festival because of us."

"Well then, let's go. We're going to miss the announcement of this festival's Hero if we won't hurry." Babushka says. She grabs the hands of Rosalie and Gabriel and practically drags them from the house. You would think she would lose her strength with the years but she stays strong as ever.

Fortunately, the festival isn't far away from our house. The yard where all of the booths and activities are held is empty, so we quickly rush towards the big stage where they'll announce the name of the family who will have one of her members as the hero of the festival.

The announcement has already begun and we are only able to hear the last sentence of it. "And the chosen family is… The Belikovs!"

_What_?

Ever since Aunt Sasha was chosen to be the Belikov hero sixteen years ago we were sure we wouldn't be the chosen family again for at least forty years. I'm not sure how do they pick up the families every festival but I thought there would be a little logic in it. A family has never been chosen while their hero is still alive, even if Aunt Sasha is somewhere in Alaska right now.

An odd silence fell down on the crowd, and then everyone burst in applauses and whistles.

"The Belikov family has one hour to choose one member to participate in the festival." The blond moroi standing on the stage yelled. "We'll ask you to come back here in an hour so that we could introduce you our new hero."

Everyone starting walking back toward the yard but when we saw Lissa, Christian, Eddie, Mia, Adrian, Jill, Abe, Denis, Lev and Artur Babushka signaled them to follow us and lead us to a secluded spot on the corner of the yard.

"Okay, we need to choose a hero," Babushka says, not playing around the bush. "And I hope you all remember the hero should be a female who is a member of our family or a guest of ours."

"So who will it be? Ma and Babushka are too old and Sonya and I can't since we have jobs and kids to take care of, the festival will take too much time to participate in." Karolina says and them looks expectantly at Vika.

"I can't either," Vika says. "I have a lot of wedding errands to do. I can't participate if I want to have the wedding in two months." She sighs. It has always been Vika's dream to be the festival's hero. She always dreamed of succeeding all of the tasks and becoming a legend.

Vika shots a glance at Roza's direction as she asks, "So who will be the hero?"

"I don't want to participate," Roza pouted. "From what Vika told me no one know how long this festival will be and I really need to leave after Vika's wedding." My heart ached as she said she would leave after the wedding. Of course, I already know that, but I really try not to think of it.

"Liss?" Roza asks. "What about you? Do you want to be the hero?"

"Oh I would love to, it sounds very interesting. But I have to plan my wedding too. And I won't be able to do that if I'll be here all the time. I've already canceled out tickets back to court so that we could stay 'till Viktoria's wedding but we will have to leave afterwards, too."

"Jill?" Roza asks. I can see the desperation in her eyes. She really don't wan to stay here after the wedding.

"Oh I can't. I'm teaching at St. Vladimir's Academy and I have to get back to teach the in a few days. There is no way I can stay. Sorry."

Roza's pout deepened. "Don't worry Roza," I tell her. Ever since she screamed at me that only people that love her can call her Roza, I called her that every time I tried to talk to her. And every time, she would tell me her name is Rose and walk away. "I'm sure Mia could b-"

"No!" Roza bursts. "Fine, I'll be the hero." She sighs. Why would she be so against Mia being the hero?

"Rose? Why don't you want me to be the hero?" Mia asks her.

***_* RPOV *_***

"Rose? Why don't you want me to be the hero?" Mia asks me, her doe eyes wide in shock of my outburst.

Should I tell her, or should I let her find out on her own? I mean, Vika told me about a pregnant woman who was chosen to be a hero and lost her baby in the fighting task. I would not let that happen to Mia. Even if she still doesn't know about the baby.

I sigh loudly, making my decision. "Mia, Eddie, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"

I don't wait for them to answer as I walk away from the rest of the group, but I can hear both Eddie and Mia hot on my heels.

After we are far enough so that no one can hear us, I turn around and confront them. "Now, before I'll tell you what I need to tell you, I need to ask you a few questions, okay?" I ask and they both nod.

"How serious are you about this relationship?" I ask bluntly, looking at them both in the eyes.

"What?" Eddie asks, shocked.

"Just answer the damn question." I sigh. _Man I sighed a lot today!_

"Well, we're engaged, so I'll say we're pretty serious."

"And after you'll get married, what will happen?"

"Well, we hadn't talked about it yet, but I'm guessing we will move in together and start a family." Eddie frowns. "Rose, what is it? Why are you acting like that?"

I take both of their hands in mine. "I'm sorry that I'm the one to tell you, instead of letting you find t on your own, but you need to know." I take a deep calming breath. "mia'spregnant." I breathe out.

"What?" Mia asks. I can see it's not a what-you're-saying-is-impossible what. But a what-did-you-just-say?-I-couldn't-hear-you what.

"I said, Mia is pregnant." I say softly. "Congratulation."

"What?" Mia asks again, dumbfounded, but this time I know she heard me. I just nod and smile softly, not sure how they would take it.

"Why would you think so?" Mia whispers.

"I can see it." I look pointedly at her stomach. "Yup, defiantly pregnant."

"You can see it?" Eddie whispers too. Why can't they just talk normally?

"Yes, you remember that I told you about my powers, right?"

Eddie nods his head, still not completely out of the shock. "Yeah, when Christian almost crapped his pants after you lifted him."

I had to smile at that. "So, what do you think?"

"I think that my brain just froze. I can't think of anything." Eddie says.

"Yeah, me too." Mia agrees.

"Well, snap out of it. You're going to be parents." I chuckle at their expression as soon as I say the P word.

"I'm going to be a daddy?" Eddie asks quietly, a huge grin forming on his face. "I'm going to be a daddy." He says again, with more confidence.

I just smile and leave them to themselves, letting them process the idea of being parents.

"Roza, we have half an hour before they'll announce you as the new hero, so let's go tell my friends that I'M GETTING MARRIED!" Vika shouts at the top of her lungs and drags me toward the yard before I could even answer her.

"Anna! Anna!" She calls. "Hi." Vika breathes as we stop next to the blond Moroi woman who declared the chosen family on the stage half an hour ago.

"Oh hi Vika," The blond girl, Anna, says. "Did your family chose a hero yet?"

"Yep." Vika nods. "Anna, meet Rose. She's practically a part of the family."

Anna's eyes widen, "Rose? As in Rose Hathaway? The one you told me about six years ago?"

Vika smiles hugely, nodding her head. "The one and only."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you." Anna shakes my hand. "Do you mind if I'll go bring my sister? You've been her role model since she was fifteen. She's here with her boyfriend. It's her twenty one birthday today. Her name is Kelly."

"Of course I don't mind. Where is she?" Hey, if I'm her rule model, the least I can do is talk to her. But I don't get why she would choose me as her role model. The amount of times I've ran away from school and court is ridiculous and nobody has heard from me for the last five years. Besides, I would have been seventeen when she was fifteen so it makes no sense for her to even hear about me.

"Oh she's over there by the popcorn stand with her boyfriend. Can you see her? She has the same hair as mine."

_Oh please tell me she's not who I think she is! Can nothing go right in my life?_

* * *

**The idea of the festival belongs to the amazing D. Kelly!**

**R&R!**


	28. Chapter 25

**Another chapter! A short one, but still a chapter!**

**I hope you enjoy it 'cause it took me so long to write.**

**Tal :-***

**PS - Please read the AN at bottom.**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 25

_Oh please tell me she's not who I think she is! Can nothing go right in my life?_

Well, apparently god hates me. Maybe Sydney is right and I am an evil creature of the night, and that's why he is trying to punish me. Yeah, that must be it. Because if it isn't, why would _she_ be here?

"Kelly!" Anna calls while jumping up and down, trying to catch her sister's attention. "Come here! You need to meet someone!" _Oh we have already met._

I internally prey that Kelly won't say anything in front of other people, especially not Vika. If Vika will find out I'm the Killer, she'll tell Lissa, since they had become great friends in the last few days, and Liss will tear my head off.

Kelly looks behind her shoulder, to see what the fuss is all about, and when she catches my gaze, her eyes widen considerably.

The first time I met Kelly was right after I left court, in Spokane. I saved her and her friends from the same fate as Mason's. It was the day of her sixteenth birthday when I saved them. I couldn't forget her, her face looked so familiar, I couldn't help but feel like I saw her face somewhere.

Two years later, on Kelly's eighteenth birthday, we met again. The guys and I were hunting in Oklahoma; we ambushed a deserted ally behind a nightclub when we heard her scream. Kelly went out to a club with a few friends to celebrate her birthday and got very drunk. Her friend, Austin, which I also met in Spokane, walked her home when two Strigois attacked them.

One of the Strigois landed a blow straight to Austin's head, which left him out cold. Luckily, Artur and I managed to jump on the Strigois before they could drain Kelly, but she did pass out.

And since the only Alchemist we told about our kills was Sydney, which was in Russia, we had to take them with us to the hotel we were staying at.

So when both Austin and Kelly woke up and asked what my name is, I told them I'm the Killer. I knew Abe was looking for me, and if he had the slightest clue of my whereabouts, I would be on a plane to court, kicking and screaming.

Kelly and Austin swore they wouldn't tell anyone any information about me, or even mention they met me, and called Austin's friend Taylor to come pick them up. **(AN: Yes Debbie, I purposely named him Taylor after your son, named Kelly after your last name, and positioned Rose's last meeting with Kelly in Oklahoma.) **

And now, three years later, on Kelly's twenty-first birthday, we meet again.

Next to Kelly stands Austin, he's gawking at me too, with popcorn in his hand frozen in the air, halfway towards his mouth.

I guess Kelly and Austin finally got together, since Anna said that Kelly is here with her boyfriend.

"Rose? Are you okay?" Vika asks, waving her hand in front of my face. "You kinda spaced out for a minute while staring at Anna's sister. Is everything okay?"

I swallow loudly. "Yes, everything is fine." I say, all the time praying that Kelly and Austin, which were walking toward our way right now, will get the message and won't say anything.

"Hello," Kelly says, not moving her eyes away from my face for a second. "How are you?" She asks me. Shit. Obviously Kelly doesn't know what to say, since she doesn't even know my real name, and it could have been worse; but now both Vika and Anna are staring weirdly at us, wondering how the hell we know each other.

I nod curtly, trying to show Vika that the fact that Kelly already knows me is not a big deal. "Fine."

"How do you two know each other?" Vika asks, not hitting around the bush.

"Umm… We've met on my sixteenth birthday; and then again on my eighteenth birthday." Kelly mumbles awkwardly. "She kinda saved my life twice."

I cringe internally. There is no way Vika won't put the pieces together now. I'm so dead.

"Wait, I thought you said The Killer was the one that saved you on your eighteenth birthday. Of course you refused to tell me how he looks, but you never told me he was with a girl." Anna exclaims. I glare at both Kelly and Austin, which were looking intently on the ground; they swore they wouldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry!" Kelly says as she catches my glare. "I swear we didn't say a thing. Anna heard us talking about it last time we visited her and our brother."

I sigh. I'll have to deal with them later, since Vika is standing next to me with her eyes wide and her mouth open, staring at nothing.

"Vika? What happened? Why are you looking like that?" Liss asks from behind us, joining the conversation. _Oh great._

"Rose?" Vika mumbles weakly. "Please tell me it's not what I think it is."

"Well…" I scratch the back of my neck. "Kinda."

"ROSEMARIE HATHAWAY! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Vika explodes. "YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN SERIOUSLY HURT! DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUSE IT IS? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?"

"Wait! Rosemarie Hathaway? As in THE Rosemarie Hatha-" Kelly starts to asks but Liss interrupts her.

"Rose? What is she talking about? What is so dangerous?" Her big bright eyes are boring into mine.

"Nothing, Liss. It's nothing." I glare at Viktoria, trying to warn her not to say anything. But, apparently my warning wasn't received by Vika.

"It is not nothing!" She blows. "I'll tell you what's going on Liss. Rose is The Killer!"

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I glare at Vika again. Does she not know how Liss will react? And why the hell is she screaming it in front of everyone? Thank god nobody was close enough to hear her. Except for Lissa and Anna, of course.

Liss shakes her head weakly. "No, Rose can't be The Killer. She knows how dangerous hunting Strigois is. She won't ever hunt Strigois without them attacking first, not after what happened with Mason. Right Rose?" She looks at me with her big doe eyes, begging me to tell her that it's just a joke.

I think that deep down she already knows the answer 'cause when I refuse to look at her and just glare at the ground she starts begging.

"Please tell me it's not true Rose. You won't do something so stupid, right?"

I just keep glaring at the ground, waiting for the denial phase to pass and for the shouts to start.

"Rose?" Her voice is smaller now. "This really isn't funny."

I lift my head up to look at Anna, Kelly, Austin and Vika. Vika has the audacity to look sorry, like it helps me now. "Could you leave us alone for a few minutes?" I ask. "And I would appreciate it if you won't mention what you just heard to anyone." I glare at them all.

They all nod and Anna adds. "Of course. Just remember that you have to get to the stage in fifteen minutes, so that we could introduce you as the festival's heroine." And with that, they are all gone.

I turn around slowly and face Liss, bracing myself for what will surely come. I have to give her that, Liss is the only Moroi that can truly make me scared for my life, especially with the expression she has on her face right now. I have never seen her so pissed.

Don't get me wrong, Lissa is the same fragile Moroi she was before. And of course, I can beat her in a fight. But even if she were to attack, I would never fight back.

"Liss listen," I start, but Lissa cuts me off when she raises her hands, as if to tell me 'stop'.

"I don't want to hear it." She says coldly and storms off.

"Liss wait!" I run after her. "At least let me explain!"

Lissa stops and turns around to face me again. "Explain what?" She asks. "How even though what happened to Mason you are going out and hunting Strigois? How you just throw yourself at danger and hope for the best? And how, according to the latest news in court, you've already killed more than million Strigois? Well then, go ahead, let's hear what you have to say, Rose."

Wow. I mean, I knew Liss would be pissed when she found out, but I never anticipated that kind of reaction. Lissa was always the kind and forgiving one.

"You are right Liss," I start. "At first it was very dangerous and very and arrogant of me to just go out and hope for the best. But now, after all those years, I'm skilled and now with my new powers it's not so dangerous. You know why even got my powers?" I ask her.

"No." Liss shakes her head. I can already see her warming up to me. She was never one to hold a grudge; that was always my job. Well, except when someone hurt me, then she can scare even the devil himself.

"I got those powers because I killed more than one million Strigois. Mason said that last month there was supposed to be an attack on Court by the Strigois that would have led to the Strigois taking over the world. Since I killed so many of them the attack hadn't happened and the world was saved. I saved the world Liss! You can say whatever you want Liss, but you can't say that what I did was wrong. Stupid, but not wrong." I conclude.

Liss exhales loudly. "Did you really save the world?" She asks.

"Yeah. Mason told me that after the millionth Strigoi that I've killed, I got my powers so that I could be the best fighter ever. You see Liss, my destiny is to rid the world of Strigois. If I'd come back now to Court and be your guardian, everyone will look down at you, because of what happened with the queen's murder. I need to stay with the guys and travel around the world, killing as much Strigois as I can, because I'm the best fighter in the world."

Lissa sniffles. "Arrogant much?" She asks with a little smile.

"Very much." I smirk. "But right now, I'm just stating the facts. I have an element that nobody else has and I can do everything with it."

I wipe a few tears the fell down her cheek. "I promise I won't disappear again, Liss."

"Swear?" She sniffles again.

I nod. "On my life."

"Well, obviously your life doesn't mean much to you. Swear on my life." She says.

"I never swore on your life, Liss."

"There is always a first to everything. And that just means that you'll have to work hard to keep that promise." She smiles again, more widely this time.

I sigh. "The things you make me do… OK, I swear on your life that I won't disappear again." I smile too.

"Good, now let's get back to the stage 'cause our fifteen minutes are almost done." Liss starts walking ahead of me but then she stops and turns around to face me again.

"Oh and Rose?" She asks.

"Yeah?"

"You have 'till tomorrow to tell everyone else."

***_* Bad Always Leads To Good *_***

As we all walk away from the festival, I ask everyone to come to the Belikov's house, because I need to tell them something. I think it's better to tell them now and let them sleep on it than tell them all tomorrow, when they are fully awake and ready to scold and shout.

"Well, I'm sure you are all wondering why I summoned this family meeting. Yes, this is a family meeting because you are all my family." I start. "Even you, Fire Boy. And I need to tell you all something." I look at the sixteen worried faces in front of me. (Paul, Rosalie and Gabriel are all sleeping peacefully in their beds). Seven people out of the people in front of me already know my secrete, but I think it's important they would be here, too.

I take a deep breath. "Some of you already know this, but some of you don't. So I'll just say it."

"Rose dear, what's the problem?" Olena asks.

I take another deep breath and decide that there is no way better than just saying it bluntly.

"I am The Killer."

* * *

**IMPORTANT:**

**I've decided to share some of the best fics I've read with you so every chapter I'll advise you on a few fanfics. Some of them will be VA, some of them will be HP, and some of them will be of Twilight... (PS- Some of the fics are not complete and will never be, but the plot is still so awesome it stuck to me and I keep thinking about it all the time.)**

**The first fic is a VA fic and it's called **'A Blessing in Disguise' **by Ms. Belikov**

**Summary:**

ALL HUMAN! Rose Hathaway is a troubled teen sent to a private maximum security Military Academy. During her stay, she meets General Dimitri Belikov, who pushes and challenges Rose to her highest possible limits. Can she break through his tough exterior?

**The second fic is a Twilight fic and it's called **'I Want You To Want Me' **by The Perisher**

**Summary:**

'Mr Popular' Edward Cullen, and 'The Freak' Isabella Swan, just got dumped by their first loves. Now they must work together to make their ex's realize what their missing out on. Pretending to fall in love, will they truly develop feelings for each other?

**The third and last for this chapter is an HP fic and it's called **'The Prank War' **by CrazyGirl47**

**Summary:**

Now that Voldemort is dead, Harry and company are enjoying their last year of school by taking part in a timehonored Hogwarts tradition: the seventh year prank war.

**Please give those fics a chance, they really stuck to my mind and I keep reading them over and over again.**

**R&R!**

**Tal =]**

**PS - I'll put every fic I recommend on on my profile (but without the summary so you can always find the full list there.**


	29. Chapter 26

**Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! Please don't kill me!**

**I have a good reason! You see, my life is a mess right now. I had a major fight with my parents that lasted a month and then I found out I have a rare dangerous diease in my stomach so now I'm stuck at the hospital for who-knows-how-long!**

**BUT - This is the longest chapter I have ever wrote! 9,713 words! Can you believe it? 20 pages!**

**So, I hope you like and please tell me what you think...**

**Eternal love,**

**Tal :-***

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 26

***_*RPOV*_***

"I am The Killer." I take a deep breath in and then exhale loudly. I look at the nine shocked faces around the table. Yeva, Denis, Artur, Lev, Dimitri, Vika and Lissa already knew my big secrete, so when I said it, they weren't as shocked as the others.

"W-w-what?" Jill asks shakily.

"I said," I sigh. "I am The Killer."

"I heard what you said," Jill glares at me. I guess it's not a good time for my smartassness. "But you can't be The Killer! The Killer is a man!"

"Says who?" Denis smirks. We got a lot of reactions like that from the Strigois we hunted before I staked them. Denis, unlike me, liked to brag about the fact that I am The Killer to the Strigois before we killed them. I always tell him that if one of the Strigois will run away before we manage to kill him our cover will be blown, but he never listens to me nowadays.

"B-but last time I heard, The Killer has killed more than 700,000 Strigois." Sonya whispers.

"More than a million, honey." Yeva smirks, too. Smug, crazy old woman.

"More than a million," Mia mumbles weakly.

"Damn Rose. I mean, I knew you were a badass, but a million Strigois…" Christian shakes his head appreciatively and Eddie nods in agreement.

I smile slightly, knowing that the worse hadn't happened yet. I turn my gaze slowly in Abe and Olena's direction at the head of the table.

After Lissa, Abe and Olena's reactions were the one I was most worried about. Lissa's reaction was better than I expected, and I couldn't help but hope that it would be as easy with them.

"Rosemarie Hathaway Mazur." Abe says in a deadly quiet tone.

"Rosemarie Hathaway Belikov." Olena says at the same time, with the same tone.

I look at both of them with confusion. They have never added their last name to my full name before, and I got this fuzzy feeling in my stomach when I realized that even though I didn't know who my father was for the most of my life and the fact that Olena thinks that I broke Dimitri's heart and left him in his time of need, they both think of me as a daughter; a true one.

They both look at each other with a surprised look. Abe nods curtly and Olena takes it as a sign to continue her speech.

"Rosemarie Hathaway Mazur Belikov," She looks at me with her piercing gaze. "How dare you risk your life like that?" She asks. "More than million Strigois! I do not know what went through your mind when you decided to go out and start hunting for Strigois. Do you have a death wish?" Then she turned to Denis, Lev and Artur. "And you three! I always thought that what you guys were doing is stupid. But to drag my girl into this?" If looks could kill Denis would be six feet under right now, since Olena took him as the leader of the group. The fact that she thinks that he stole me from Dimitri doesn't help the matter very much either.

I walk slowly to the other side of the table and stop in front of Olena. I can feel the tears I'm dying to shed in my eyes, threatening to start flowing every second. _I will not cry,_ I say to myself. _I have to be strong._

I softly engulf Olena in my embrace. "You have no idea how it makes me feel to see that you think of me as a true daughter of yours, Olena." I whisper softly, so that only she could hear. "But I'm a big girl, and I know what I'm doing."

"But-" Olena starts protesting again, but I don't let her finish.

"Do you trust me, Olena?" I ask.

She nods weakly.

"Then you have to trust me to know what I'm doing. Do you know how many people would be dead right now if I hadn't killed all those Strigois?" I smile.

"But that doesn't mean you should risk your life like that!" She exclaims. "You could have gotten killed for god's sake!"

"But I didn't." I say. "And I've killed more than million Strigois. Don't you see, Ma? This is way bigger than you and me."

"How did you call me?" Tears start leaking from Olena's eyes. "Did you just call me Ma?"

"Well, yes I did. You really are like a mother to me. Like I said before, I consider you all my family."

"Well, I can't change the past, so there is no point on dwelling on your job. You just have to promise me you won't do it again and I'll stop bugging you about you being The Killer. Deal?" She looks at me with big brown glassy eyes, but I won't get fooled. I know what she's trying to do, and I won't fall for it.

"I'm sorry Olena but I can't promise you that," I smile at her, letting her know I know what she's doing and that I won't be fooled so easily. "Because I'm not going to stop. Especially not now, with my new powers. There is no way anything can happen to me with my powers. It's completely safe."

"Now you listen to me missy. I don't care how many Strigois you killed or how many stakes you can use at once. I will not, in any way, let you risk your life in that stupid way. No matter how safe you think it is. You don't know if your powers are safe for you to use or what are your limitations. You can't control those powers of yours!"

"Of course I can." I shrug.

"You almost burned down my beautiful front door while trying to open it." She smirks.

"That was a long time ago!"

"You've been here for less than a week."

I open my mouth to retort but quickly shut it when Abe clears his throat.

"Yes daddy?" I ask sweetly, an angelic look on my face.

"Don't you 'daddy' me, Rosemarie." He says gruffly. "You do realize that Sydney is in serious trouble, right? She lied to my face time after time just to cover for you."

I start to panic. There's a difference between getting chewed out by my father and letting Sydney suffering from his wrath.

"Now, now, let's not do anything rush," I try to calm him down. "Sydney and I made a deal. I tell her how many Strigois I kill every day so that she could write it on the account of The Killer and in return she doesn't tell anyone who or where I am." I say. "It really isn't Sydney's fault. If she wouldn't have agreed to the deal I would have left the dead Strigois on the street and they could have been discovered."

"Still doesn't mean she didn't lie to my face," Abe states.

"She was doing her job!" I exclaim. I can see that Abe doesn't really want to get Sydney in trouble. He can see that she didn't have a choice but lying to him and even though his appearance, he really does take care of his employees, even the human ones.

"You know what?" He says. "Sydney isn't the matter right now; you are. You can't travel around the world risking your life like that!"

"I thought we already went through this with Olena." I sigh. "I'm not going to stop being 'The Killer' just because you think it's too risky. I'm sorry old man but that's my last word on the subject."

Abe glares at me, but not in his usual 'I-will-break-your-knee-caps' kind of glare; more like 'We-are-not-done-talking-about-that-young-lady' parental glare. And again, it made me feel warm inside to know that he really does care about me so much.

I feel horrible defying both Olena and Abe's demands. Most of my life the only family I had was Lissa. Being left in the Academy at such a young age, to be raised by Alberta, I never thought I'd have a family; guardians usually don't. Of course, as I grew up I considered Alberta as my mother, since she was the one to raise me, and I still do. Alberta never had the chance to have kids of her own, but I always knew she wanted to have a family. So when Janine left me in the Academy's care, Alberta took me under her wing with open arms. As the time progressed Lissa's parents also considered me their daughter and treated me like one up until the day of the fatal accident. And after Janine made a reappearance in my life and we straightened our messed up relationship a bit, I can now call her a mother to me whole heartedly, too.

So, from a girl who thought would never have a family; I turned to the woman with four mothers, two fathers, one grandmother, and a lot of very annoying siblings.

I know I could never have children; I've accepted that. Mostly, because the love of my life doesn't love me back, and even if he did – we couldn't have children because we are both Dhampirs. But also, because I could never have a kid with my type of job. If I had a child while working as 'The Killer' he would be in so much danger. But nevertheless, it's better that me, who don't have any chance at having children, will hunt Strigoi than some poor girl that would have to throw away her chance at having kids so that she could save people from Strigois. Because that's what both Guardians and unpromised Dhampirs do; we save people from Strigois.

Dimitri's voice startles me from my inner monologue. "Well, if we are all gathered here already, I'd like to talk to you all about something I should have told you very long ago," He says. He'd better not say what I think he's going to say. I'm perfectly fine with telling everyone I was the one who hurt Dimitri, and not the other way around. I know for a fact that at the moment everyone will know the truth, all hell will break loose.

Of course everyone will be mad at Dimitri for lying to them, and at me for not telling them the truth once I realized he lied. It will be hard to face their disappointment and anger, but I'll manage that. The thing I'm dreading is the pitying looks I'll receive once they all realize what really happened. I won't stand that. And of course, after the initial shock, Olena will go right back to her scheming, matchmaking ways, with more force than ever. She'll probably recruit every female in this house; Lissa, Mia and Jill included, even if they are actually living here. And maybe even some of the males, too.

Olena, bless her heart, might be a scheming matchmaker, but sneaky she isn't; I'm not blind, I could see what Olena was trying to do all along; by forcing me to sleep with Dimitri in his room, pushing his to give Nicolai 'The Talk' with me, suggesting that he'd teach me how to bake her black bread and a whole bunch of other stuff, too.

"Umm… Well, you see…" Dimitri rubs the back of his neck, trying to find the right words to tell his family that he had lied to them for the last five years. _Yeah, good luck with that, buddy._

"Dimitri dear, is everything okay?" Olena asks, I can see the concern on her face.

_Don't say it, Dimitri!_ I yell at him inside my head. _Just keep thing the way they are right now!_

But of course, Dimitri can't read my mind. Although when I was still a student I always felt like he could, so maybe he's just ignoring my silent threats I'm screaming at him inside my head right now. But maybe it's good he can't read what I'm thinking right now, 'cause my mind can come up with pretty disturbing things sometimes, and now is one of those times.

"Yes… No… I don't know Ma!"

"Just spit it out, Dimka." Sonya says. "Whatever it is, just tell us."

"Well, do you remember what I told you when I first came here, five years ago?" He asks. "About Roza and I? And what happened between us?" The glare I carry on my face becomes harsher instantly. _When would he learn not to call me Roza? Ever since I told him not to he made_ _it his life's goal to call me that all the time!_

"Yeah Dimka, we remember." Sonya says. "But I'm sure you can see the death glares Roza is sending your way so I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that she doesn't want you to say whatever it is that you want to say." _Thank you, Sonya!_

"And besides," Karolina adds. "We already forgave her. We know that she hurt you, Dimka. And Roza knows it, too. But you have to let it go."

"Yes, Dimitri." I growl at him. "_Just let it go. It's over. Let it _fade_ away._"

"Wow Rose, no need to be so mean. I mean, I know we forgave you, but you really hurt him." Karolina looks at me icily. "I know it has been a long time ago, but he's still very hurt, so try to consider his emotions and not just your own will ya?"

Oh I can't believe it. Did she just call me selfish? "What are you trying to say, Karolina?"

"That I've been thinking and I'm not sure I forgive you, Rose. I want to remind you that that's my little brother you're treating like shit Rosemarie! Do you know how much he suffers from what happened? I understand that it was hard for you to see him after what happened in Novosibirsk but that's not a reason for you to be so mean to him now, six years later. He lets you sleep in his bed, he agreed to teach you how to cook, he has been nothing but kind to you since the moment you stepped through! And you just walk all over him!"

If it was a different situation, where Karolina's anger wasn't pointed at me, it would have made me happy to see how much Karolina cares for Dimitri. But it's a different situation, and Karolina's rage is pointed at me, so I can't help but being pissed. I'm not pissed at Karolina, since she doesn't know the whole truth, but I'm pissed at Dimitri even starting this conversation. Why couldn't he just leave things the way they were?

"You should be fucking grateful to him for even looking at you after how much you hurt him." She spits. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Karolina!" Viktoria yells. "You have no idea what you are talking about! Roza shouldn't be ashamed of nothing she has done because she has done nothing wrong. Why don't you sit down and listen to what Dimka has to say before you accuse innocent people of things that aren't their fault!" Things that aren't my fault? Does Viktoria know the truth? She must have found out recently since a week ago, when I got here, she was the one who told me of Dimitri's lie, and she believed it then.

"Innocent people? Done nothing wrong? Are you fucking kidding me Viktoria? I know Sonya thinks like me, she's just too grateful that Rose saved Rosalie to say something. And I thought you think so, too. You can't tell me she hasn't hurt Dimitri, that she isn't hurting him now." Karolina is panting as she stands in front of her chair, her palms flat on the table. She didn't yell because she was afraid to wake up the kids but I could see that if she had the opportunity, she'd scream her lungs out on me for 'hurting' her brother. If she only knew that the situation was reversed, and that Dimitri is the one who doesn't want me anymore, not the other way around.

"Well, I do. So sit down, shut up, and listen to what Dimka wants to tell you." Viktoria glares at her sister, looking away only after Karolina sits back down on the chair and looks at Dimitri, waiting for him to start talking.

Dimitri takes a deep breath before he starts talking. "She's right," He exhales loudly. "You have no reason to forgive Roza because-"

"Ah! I told you so!" Karolina gloats. "Even Dimitri thinks like me," I can't help but getting pissed. Again, I'm not pissed at Karolina, I know she'll regret what she's saying right now; she doesn't know what really happened. I'm pissed at Dimitri and this whole situation.

"No!" Dimitri calls. "That's not what I meant. I meant, you have no reason to forgive Roza because you have no reason to be mad at her; she didn't do anything."

"Dimka, I don't understand. What do you mean 'she didn't do anything,'? You told us what happened after Lissa turned you. We know what happened between the two of you," Sonya looks deeply into Dimitri's eyes, and then into mine. "What are you trying to say?"

Dimitri opens him mouth to answer his sister's question, but Lissa screech stopped him. "You told them I saved you?" She half-screams half-whispers, so that she wouldn't wake up the sleeping kids. "Dimitri Belikov, you know very well it was all Rose. The only thing I did was shove a stake through your heart." Her voice softened at the end of the sentence. For a moment, she really sounded like a mother scolding her son.

"Dimitri dear, we need you to explain more clearly so that we could understand," Olena says softly. "What exactly are you trying to tell us?"

"I-I lied." Dimitri chokes out. "A-After I was turned back, I was so horrified by what I've done, and I was so disgusted with myself. _I_ was the one who pushed Roza away, not the other way around. And after the guardians arrested her for the queen's murder, and I didn't know what to do. I couldn't see her like that, so I left and came here." Dimitri pauses for a second to gather his thoughts and I take the moment of silence to look at everyone's faces.

Olena's hand is covering her mouth as she stares at her son in shock; Abe, Lev and Artur are all glaring murderously at Dimitri, probably willing him to drop dead right in this instant; Mia and Jill look shocked, too, while Lissa, Eddie, Adrian and Christian still look upset about what Karolina said. They all saw my pain after I found out Dimitri left while I was still locked at the stinking jail cell, and they all know that Dimitri was the one pushing me away, not the other way around.

Yeva's expression is unreadable; her face is blank from every emotion as she watches everyone's reactions. Viktoria smirks smugly at Karolina, as if to say 'I-Told-You-So' with her eyes.

Karolina and Sonya's reactions are pretty similar to Olena's. Pure shock is written all over her face. I try to look intently into Karolina's eyes, to let her know I'm not mad at her, but she quickly averts her gaze as soon as my eyes catch hers.

And then, just like I predicted, as the shock level lowers a bit, I get pitying looks from every person around this table. Even Abe stops glaring at Dimitri while fantasizing about his impending very cruel death to throw a look in my way.

Just as Dimitri opens his mouth to start talking again, Nicolai bursts through the door. He wanted to go tell his best friend that Vika said yes; so he went to his friend's house after the festival to celebrate and said he'll just ask Vika to tell him what the family meeting was about when he comes back. "What did I miss?" He asks.

Vika sighs. "Have I told you that you have a terrible timing, baby?" When he just nods, she sighs again. "Come on, let's go upstairs and I'll fill you in."

"You know what?" I rise up from the chair before someone could say something. "I think I'm going out for a run. Don't wait up."

"But it's the middle of the night!" Olena objects. "And we really need to talk about all this, please stay Roza." She pleads.

"I'll be back in a few hours," I say, mostly to assure Olena I'm not going to run away in the middle of the night like last time I was here. "Like I said, don't wait up."

Thank god I can run in these shoes, I don't want to go upstairs and change my cloths and I really need to let out some steam.

I grab a set of keys from the counter and close the door behind me, hiding the keys under a plant so that I could open the door after everyone goes to bed.

I walk down the pavement away from the house and just as I'm about to turn away in the corner of the street and start running, I hear someone running from behind me, calling my name.

"Rose, Rose wait!" Lissa's voice is getting closer and closer until she's panting right beside me, trying to regulate her breathing.

"I'm really not in the mood, Liss." I say. "Just go back to the house and wait 'till the guardians to drop you at the hotel. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"I can't. The guardians already took everyone to the hotel. I told them you would walk me home." She pouts. "You won't let me walk to the hotel alone in the darkness, will you? I could be attacked." Now she adds puppy eyes to her pout. Ugh how much I hate those puppy eyes! I can't even count the number of times those eyes convinced me to do something I really didn't want to do.

"You're lying," I accuse. "They can't leave you without protection unless you are in a house with guardians in it,"

"I can be _very_ persuasive when I want to." Lissa wink at me with a smile on her face.

I halt in my steps. "You compelled them?"" I screech. "You know how people get confused after you compel them Liss! What if Strigois is going to attack them now Liss? Ah? The guardians won't be able to fight them! We have to go find them right now Liss! What were you thinking?"

Lissa just rolls her eyes at me. "Take a chill pill Rose. I didn't _compel_ them. I just used my influence as one of the two Dragomir princesses." She flutters her eyelashes at me. "No need to get all panicky."

"Ah," I breathe out. We both stay in awkward silence for a few minutes, walking slowly. When I can't stand the silence anymore, I say. "Take a chill pill, really Liss? I think you've been hanging out with Christian too much. He's starting to slowly terminate your brain cells!" I give her a fake horror face, as if I'm really afraid that her brain is going to fall off of her nose because its size had gotten smaller and smaller as the years pass. Lissa give me a very un-ladylike snore and punches my arm.

"Hey, I heard you say it once or twice," She smiles.

"Yeah, when I mimicked Christian!" I yell and in a very mature way, in a true 'Rose Hathaway' form, I stick my tongue out.

Lissa shrugs. "Still counts." And in a way that wouldn't shame the queen herself, she sticks her tongue back at me and we both start giggling like maniacs.

"So are we going to ignore the very big, very pink and very cute elephant in the room?" Lissa asks as we both calm down from our giggling fit.

I look around me franticly. "Big, pink, cute elephant? Where? I wanna see! I wanna see!"

Lissa rolls her eyes again. "Oh shut up Rose, you know what I mean."

And just like that, every sign of laughing and joking vanishes from the conversation. "I know," I nod solemnly.

"Are you planning on forgiving him sometime soon?" She asks tentatively, as if I'm going to go all suicidal on her ass if she'll speak in a voice louder than whisper.

"For lying about me?" I shrug. "I guess so, eventually. I mean, I'm going to be living in his house for at least two months 'till Vika's wedding, I can't frown at him forever, even though I want to."

"No," Liss shakes her head. "Not for lying about you to his family. For lying _to_ you, five years ago."

I scrunch my eyebrows together, so that little wrinkles start showing on my forehead. "What are you talking about? What did Dimitri lie to me about five years ago?"

Liss gives me her famous 'You're-So-Dumb-I-Can't-Believe-It' look and rolls her eyes. "Well, do you remember that when I told you that Dimitri left court you told me what he said to you at church?"

"Yeah…" _What does that has to do with anything?_

"Well…" She looks at me as if I should understand what she's talking aboutjust from that one little sentence.

"Well what?" I roll my eyes at her. "Just tell me what Dimitri lied to me about, Liss."

I get another one of her looks. "He said, and I quote: 'Love fade, mine has.'"

"And…"

"And he lied about it!" She exclaims and I immediately start shaking my head. "Yes, Rose. He still loves you and he never stopped loving you. I've only been here for a few days and I can clearly see that he adores the ground you walk on. He loves you so much Rose."

"No," I shake my head franticly. "He didn't lie about _that_! You should have heard him. There is no way he was lying! And besides, why would he lie? I practically threw myself at him, and he said his love has faded. Why would he do that if he loved me?"

Lissa gives me _another_ one of her looks and I'm really starting to get annoyed by her attitude. "Well, look at this from his point of view-"

"I've tried, but I can't get my head that far up my ass." Lissa starts laughing and I sigh in relief. Whenever you want to diffuse a situation just crack a joke and quickly change the subject of the conversation. "So, tell me how Christian popped the question," I say.

Immediately, Lissa's face light up. "Oh it was so amazing! Christian and I took a few months' vacation from the court's business to travel the world after college. We volunteered in a kindergarten in Italy and one day Christian was sick and I went alone. As soon as I walked in one girl came to me a handed me a card. One side of the card said, 'Chinese,' and the back had something written in Chinese. A moment later, another kid to me and handed me another card. On one side it said, 'German,' and the other side had something written in German. This continued for a few hours until I had 50 cards in my hand and none of the kids will tell me who gave them the cards and what they say.

"I didn't know what to think until one of the kids napping complained on a stomach pain, and I lifted her blanket to find a card that said, 'Russian,' which, as you know, I learned at the Academy. I realized that all the cards said, 'Will you marry me?' and when I turned around I saw Christian was on one knee holding the final card. One side said, 'English,' and when I flipped it over it said, 'Will you marry me?'" Liss' eyes turn glassy and she has this dreamy look on her face that informs me she's not really with me at the moment. Then she shakes her head and continues.

"Of course, I said yes." I roll my eyes at that. "And the rest of the story you already know."

"Wow," I breathe out. "I didn't know Sparky had this in him,"

Lissa nods enthusiastically. "I know, right?" She starts squealing and jumping, clapping her hands. "I was so shocked! I mean, I knew it's going to happen soon, but I had no idea he'll be so romantic and creative.

I laugh. Just as I'm about to join Liss in squealing and jumping, so that at least she won't be the only one acting like a lunatic, the nausea attacks me. _Strigois._

"I everything okay?" Liss asks as she notice my laughter stopped abruptly.

_Shit. I left my stakes in the house when we got back from the festival, how could I be so stupid!_ "Lissa, stand behind me." I commend.

"What's wrong, Rose?" Liss asks in a scared, timid voice.

"Strigois." I spit. "Now stand behind me." My eyes don't stop surveying the quiet street in front of us, but suddenly, my eyesight becomes blurry and weak, not like the heightened sight I got used to in the last few days. _What's wrong with me?_

As the Strigois come closer, my now-weakened eyes can finally see the direction they come from. A cold, hard laugh sounds from one of the female Strigois. "I spy with my little eye a Moroi and a Dhampir." She says with a nasally high voice.

"And it looks like the Dhampir doesn't even have a stake!" One of the other Strigois calls. "As if it would help her. There are ten of us and just one of her."

"You don't have your stake?" Liss asks me in a frightened voice.

"Relax Liss," I sooth her. "I can handle this without a stake."

All the Strigois burst out laughing. "And how exactly do you think you _can handle this_ without a stake? You have no chance at winning even if you had your stake with you!" The female Strigoi who talked before taunts.

"Like that," I growl. I flick my wrist, intending to warp my darkness around every single Strigoi and levitate them all in the air. Instead, a whip of dark mist comes flying from my palm and fades away in the air. _What the fuck?_

The Strigoi in front of me bursts out laughing. "That was very scary, Dhampir." She says. "We are all shaking in our boots right now."

I raise my hand again, trying to use fire this time, but nothing happens. "Rose?" Liss asks with a frightened voice. "I everything okay?"

"Yes," I spit. "Just stay behind me and let me handle this."

"Awww, the Dhampir still thinks she has a chance," One of the Strigois call. "How cute."

Before the Strigoi even finished talking, he was already on the move, running right toward Liss and I full speed. I shove Lissa out of the way, so that the impact from the Strigoi won't hurt her.

A moment before the Strigoi is about to collide with my body, I move my weight to the side and he misses my body by an inch. We start circling each other and I decide I would attack first. I go at him with a kick to his legs, but he jumps over it, and sends a punch flying toward my ribs. I barely dodge it and we circle each other again.

This time he comes at me with a punch going for my nose, to which I manage to move my head at the last second and get hit on my cheek. I send a punch to his stomach and he steps out of the way but he isn't expecting me to use the momentum from my punch to bring my body around in a twist, and send a kick flying to his hip. My kick makes contact and sends his stumbling a few feet.

I use this as my chance to get him on the ground. We wrestle on the ground until I find an opportunity and get on top of the Strigoi. Before I could break his neck, he flips us around so that he is on top of me. I shoot my legs up, kicking him off of me. We both stand up and start circling each other again. The battle goes on like this for a while, all the time with me still making sure no other Strigoi could get to Lissa. While I am deflecting other Strigoi's attempt to capture Liss, my opponent uses the opportunity to send a kick to my stomach. I barely have enough time to dodge so I don't see the punch coming for my jaw. The hit sends flying stars across my vision, and before I manage to get complete control over my body, the Strigoi tosses me to the side like last week's pizza.

"Rose!" Lissa calls as she sees me falling down. She takes a few steps toward my body on the hard cement, but before she could do anything else, another Strigoi grabs her by the throat.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asks.

A wave of complete and pure panic passes through her body and into mine. For a second her fear and worry is overpowering and I slip into her mind.

Lissa's mind is on full fright mood. _'Please let Rose be okay. Please let Rose be okay.'_ I hear Lissa's internal little voice say. And again, like many times in the past, I'm amazed by the fact that even while being held by a Strigoi intending to kill her, the only thought in her mind is about someone else's well care.

"Let me go!" Liss yells and pulls uselessly against the Strigoi's grip on her neck.

"I don't think so," The Strigoi smirks. "I'm pretty comfy right now."

Liss turns around, the Strigoi's hand still around her neck. "I said," She growls in a deadly voice. "Let. Me. Go!" The warm feeling of compulsion pulses through both of our bodies.

"Are you trying to compel me, little Moroi? Didn't your daddy tell you that Moroi's compulsion works only on humans?" The Strigoi snickers.

Darkness clouds both of our minds completely. "Have you heard about Dimitri Belikov? The Strigoi that was turned back to be a Dhampir?" Liss asks in a sickly sweet voice.

"We're actually on our way to fetch him back," The Strigoi informs her. "What does Belikov have anything to do with you?" He asks in the same sickly sweet voice Liss used not a minute ago.

"I was the one who turned him back," She spits. _What the fuck?_ What the hell is Lissa thinking, telling the Strigois that? I have no stake, my powers aren't working right and I'm sprawled on the while she's being grabbed by a Strigoi.

"_What am I doing?"_ I hear Liss's little voice in her head. "_I shouldn't have told him that! Rose is hurt, she can't help me now!"_

"_**Rose is a guardian, she has to save you."**_ Another voice, one I never heard before, is talking inside of Lissa's head. "_**And if she can't save you, then she deserves to die. She has abandoned you over and over again. If she can't save you now, then she's not worth the air she is breathing."**_

"_No, Rose is my friend…"_ Liss's weak inter voice whimpers.

"_**Then why would she leave you?"**_ The other voice hisses. _**"She doesn't love you. She never did. She just used your status to get her out of trouble. She is the reason that your family is dead. She was right next to you, so you brought her back to life. Kill her and you might get your family back. Your brother, and your parents. They loved you, and they were so hurt that you saved Rosemarie and not them. Kill her, and get your family back."**_

"_Yes. Kill her, get them. Kill her, get them. She doesn't love me; she didn't tell me when she was with Dimitri, she wasn't going to tell me when she left school, and she didn't tell me when she left court. Kill her, get them. They loved me, she didn't. Kill her, get them._" Lissa's voice got angrier and angrier the longer it "spoke". At the end, it sounded just like the angry hiss of the other voice in her head.

"_Kill her, get them."_ With that mantra in her head, Liss shakes the Strigoi off of her, as if it was a fly, and grabs a knife out of his pocket.

"_Kill her, get them."_ Lissa's voice keeps chanting as she's marching toward my body on the ground, flicking away as if it was nothing any Strigoi coming her way. _**"She didn't love you, they did."**_ The other voice whispers. _"Kill her, get them."_ She keeps chanting.

I try to pull myself out of her head, to no avail. The loath she's feeling right now toward me is so strong, I can't shake myself back to my body.

"_It's the darkness,"_ I say to myself. "_It's affecting her. And right now she's coming at me with a huge-ass knife in her hands."_

"_Kill her, get them. Kill her, get them. Kill her, get them."_ Liss is now standing right in front of me, holding the knife out. _**"Kill her, get them."**_

Is she attacking the Dhampir?" The female Strigoi asks as Lissa raises the knife above me, getting ready to strike.

"Why isn't the Dhampir defending herself? She's just gazing into space." Other Strigoi murmurs.

"_**Kill her, get them. Kill her, get them. Kill her, get them."**_ Both Lissa's voice and the other voice chant together. _**"Kill her, get them."**_ And with that, Lissa attacks, jabbing the knife in my ribs, trying to get to my heart.

The pain of the stab is enough for me to jerk back to my own body, but not before I suck away all the darkness from Lissa.

Liss's body falls to the ground as I focus again on reality. The pool of blood on the cement beneath me reminds me of the knife stuck in my chest. Luckily, or, if judged by the pain, not so luckily, Lissa hit one of my ribs, which prevented her from reaching my heart and killing me.

I pull the knife out of my chest and look at it; it really is a huge knife. _**"She tried to kill you. She doesn't really love you. Look how fast she believed that you don't love her."**_ The dark voice now whispers in my head, but I promise myself I won't believe it. Lissa isn't responsible for trying to kill me, the voice is. _**"She's the reason why Dimitri doesn't love you, Rose. She convinced him she was the only one who saved him and took all the credit for your work. She used you to get to your man. Kill her, and get Dimitri back. Kill her, and Dimitri will love you again."**_

The voice is right. _"She doesn't love me, she just wants Dimitri. She was always the reason why we couldn't be together, even back in school. And she just tried to kill me. The bitch needs to pay."_

_**"That's right. Kill her, and get Dimitri back. Kill her, and your life will be perfect. Kill her, and be happy. Just send your arm out and bring her to the Strigois using your darkness, they will know what to do with her. You can go back home and be with Dimitri. Now, with her out of the picture, he'll love you again."**_ The hiss continues to encourage me in my head and I raise my hand, sending darkness out of my palm and warping it around _her_ unconscious body.

But as I begin to raise her in the air, my mind starts to clear a little, most likely from the loss of some darkness. And I realize that the person I try to kill, the one I'm so sure has to pay; is my best friend, my sister for all intents and purposes.

I lower Lissa back on the ground, laying her still unconscious body gently on her back. _**"No! You have to kill her! She's the reason for your pain, Rose. Don't you want to be happy? Kill he, and be happy, Rose. Kill her, and be with Dimitri."**_ The voice is smaller now, weaker.

_"Shut up."_ I growl at the voice. _"She is my best friend, and I love her. And she loves me. And I won't kill her, I'll save her."_

With that, I painfully stand up, pressing on my stab wound so that it would bleed less. I channel the darkness to warp itself around all ten Strigois, who were watching quietly all this time. I quickly use the darkness to decapitate them all and drop their dead bodies to the ground with the last drop of darkness in my body.

I'm dying to just lay on the ground and pass out, but I have a few things to take care of first. Mainly, Lissa's body that is still laying on the ground. But also, the ten decapitated Strigoi bodies sprawled all over the street, which UI have no way to get rid of.

I can't leave the bodies here for fear of someone finding them, and I don't have the alchemists' magic liquid on me to get rid of them.

I search in Lissa's pockets and find her cellphone. I quickly snap it open and dial the number I already know by heart.

_"Hello?" _Sydney answers after a few rings, and her disheveled voice indicates that I just woke her up but I can't find the power in me to feel sorry.

"It's Rose," I say curtly.

Sydney sighs. _"How many Strigois did you kill this time?"_ She asks. It a usual occurrence of us when I call her in the middle of the night to inform her of the number of Strigois I killed for the night so that she could put it in my account.

"Ten. I don't have the liquid on me so I need you to send someone to get rid of the bodies." I say.

_"I thought you and the guys always take the liquid with you when you go hunting,"_ She yawns. _"How many Strigois did Lev, Artur and Denis killed tonight?"_

"I wasn't hunting tonight and the guys aren't with me, so zero."

_"But-"_

"Just send someone over here, Syd. And I'm not waiting 'till he or she is coming." I snap at her.

_"Of course you won't. Are you hurt? Do you need some medical help?"_ She asks. I look at the stab wound and the blood that keeps gushing out of it, and the I avert my eyes to Lissa.

"No, I'm fine." I lie.

_"Okay so where are you exactly?"_ She asks.

I give her the address and bid her goodnight, closing the phone and putting it back into Liss's pocket. I grab one of her hands and get her to lean on me, ignoring the pain in my chest. I start dragging her body back home.

***_* Bad Always Leads To Good *_***

"Rosie!" I hear Denis's voice as I stumble into the house, carrying Lissa's body and bleeding heavily. "What the hell happened?"

"We ummm… Met some Strigois on the way back home." I breathe out as I try to keep Liss's body upright.

"And they stabbed you?" He asks

"Something like that… Would you come and help me? Carrying someone while being stabbed isn't as easy as it looks." I glare at him as I try to hold Lissa's body better. I can hardly stay upright on my own, without having to carry Lissa as well. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

Denis sends me an apologetic look as he takes Liss from my arms and sets her on the sofa. He leads me to a wooden chair in the kitchen. "I stayed here because I wanted to talk to you about what just happened with Dimitri," He admits. "Why is Lissa unconscious? Did the Strigois hurt her?"

I shake my head. "She just passed out. I need to call Christian and tell him she is staying here tonight." I yawn. "Just fix me up and I'll call Christian later."

"I'll try Rosie, but I'm not sure I can do this. You are always the one fixing me and the guys up, not the other way around. Maybe I should wake up Olena?"

"Nah, she needs her sleep. Just help me get my shirt off and I'll tell you what to do."

Denis starts ripping my shirt to shreds. "Hey! I like this shirt!" I call.

"It will hurt you more if you'll raise your hands now. Besides, it's all bloodied and has a stab hole in it, would you really wear that again?"

I shrug, but then wince as I do. "Probably not."

"Okay, the shirt is off, what do I do now?" Denis's voice becomes weaker as my eyelids drop slowly. "Rosie? Baby? You need to stay awake, don't fall asleep now."

"Wha? Umm, go bring a towel" I pause to yawn hugely. "and a bowl of water and start cleaning the blood off the wound."

Denis rushes over to get the things I asked for as I fight to stay awake. "Hey Rosie?" Denis asks while searching one of the cupboards for a towel.

"Yeah?" I say, or at least that's what I tried to say.

"Do you remember what I told you the first time I saw you crying?" He sits on the chair next to mine and wet the towel with the water, cleaning my wound.

I laugh. "Yeah, you said, 'You look pretty when you cry. Most girls look like a mess, but you actually look better when you're crying than when you're not crying!' That definitely makes me feels better." I punch his arm. "Insensitive twat."

Denis laughs, too. "What?" He raises his eyebrows a bit. "I wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and see a crying girl in my kitchen. Not to mention that it was the crying girl's first night in my house and I already suspected she was crazy. Of course, like always, I was right." He smiles. After a few moments of silence, my eyelids start dropping again.

"Okay, I cleaned as much blood as I can. What do I do now?" He looks at my face and see that I'm a second away from passing out. "No, Rosie. You can't fall asleep yet, you might have a concussion. We need to keep talking so that you won't fall asleep, Baby."

I yawn again, trying to swallow Denis so that he would let me sleep quietly. I just want to sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep is very good… Sleep is awesome. I should go to sleep now, my eyelids are so heavy. Sleep… Sleep… Sleep…

"Rosie?"

"Ah? Ehh, It needs stitches. You remember when I stitched you?" I try to use as less words as I can, so that I could go to sleep quicker. The sooner I tell him what to do the sooner I can sleep. Sleep is good. Sleep is very good. Sleep is awesome.

"No, I don't remember. Rosie, wake up. You can't go to sleep yet. Stay awake, Rose."

"Nah," I yawn. "I wanna sleep."

"Please stay awake, Baby. You can't go to sleep yet, you have to stay awake." Denis voice becomes frantic. "Rosie, open your eyes right now."

"Let me help her," I hear Dimitri saying from somewhere near me. I try to open my eyes to look at him but my eyelids are too heavy to move right now.

"What are you doing here, Belikov? Go to your room, I can handle this." Denis barks.

"Now is not the time to be possessive, Denis. Roza is seriously hurt and I've dealt with quite a lot injuries in my life. I know what I'm doing."

I hear shuffling next to me, probably Denis and Dimitri switching places. "Roza? Can you hear me?" Dimitri asks in a soft voice.

"Urgg," I groan. "Sleep, good. Sleep, awesome."

"You can't sleep yet, Roza. You need to stay awake; do you think you can do that? For me?"

I nod my head slowly, too tired to do anything else. "It looks like you hit your head on something, and the stab wound in your chest is quite deep. You're very lucky it didn't hit anything important." I'm dying to just let go and fall into the darkness that is wrapped around me. But I can't go to sleep yet, I promise Dimitri I won't. I have to stay awake, for him. "I don't think you need stitches, because Adrian or Lissa will probably heal you first thing tomorrow morning, or actually, later today. We do need to do something with your blood loss, okay Roza?" I feel Dimitri's soft hand brushing the hair off of my face, and hum in agreement.

"Denis, in the cupboard beneath the sink there is a packet of bandages, medical duct tape and a box of pills called "Zoldpline". I need you to bring me all of those and you should probably also need to call Christian and tell him Lissa is staying here before he start ripping his hair out." I hear Denis huff at Dimitri's command, but he still rushes over to the cupboard to bring him what he asked.

"Roza, can you open your eyes?" Dimitri asks as Denis sets the bandages, tape, and pills on the tables and walks outside to call Christian. "I need to see that you're still awake, Roza. Please open your eyes."

"Mmmm," I moan, and start fighting with my eyelids. After a few moments, I win the battle and open my eyes just a slit, to see Dimitri's worried face in front of me. As he sees my slightly open eyes, he lets out a sigh of relief and run his fingers through his hair.

"I'm going to put some bandages on your wound, and then give you 'Zoldpline', which helps you produce more blood in your system, but you need to drink a lot of water with it, okay Roza?" I nod gently, trying to ignore the growing pain in my head from when I hit the cement.

As Dimitri finishes bandaging me, he stands up and brings a bottle of water and a huge-ass glass. "You need to take 'Zoldpline' now, and then you can sleep, Roza." His accent is way more pronounced now, as he brushes the hair away from my eyes. He fills the glass with water and gives me two pills. "Because you might have a concussion, I'll have to wake you up every three hours. And you'll need to drink more water and take more pills every time I'll wake you, okay?"

I nod, not liking the idea of waking up every three hours at all, but having no energy to argue.

"Good. Now take these," He puts the pills in my hands. "And drink the whole glass." He smiles weakly.

Dimitri kisses my forehead gently as I drink the water. "Let's get you to bed, Roza." He whispers and scoops me up in his arms bridal style.

I shake my head. "No, I need to tell Denis goodnight." I say, but it goes out of my mouth all mushy and blurry.

"I promise you Denis will be here first thing in the morning. You need to sleep now, Roza. You're exhausted." He kisses my forehead again as I lay my head on his broad shoulder and close my eyes.

Just before I fall completely into sleep, I hear him whisper, "Goodnight, my Roza. I love you."

* * *

**Horrible? Aweful? You're coming at me with kniefs for making you wait so long for this shit? Tell me what you think!**

**Here are the fic's recommendations for this chapter:**

******The first fic is a VA fic and it's called **'School Uniform' **by Rose-Dimitri-Hathaway-Belikov**

**Summary:**

St. Vladimir's gets a uniform. Something new happens every day at the academy. Rose and Dimitri are finally together. Post SK. *COMPLETE* -The first story of a sequel-

**The second fic is a Twilight fic and it's called **'Code Name: Nanny' **by xvampiree**

**Summary:**

"So let me get this straight, you want me to help you catch your wife cheating on you, so that you can divorce her, while taking care of your children?" OOC M for language and Lemons Canon.

**The third and last for this chapter is an HP fic and it's called **'Just A Harmless Joke' **by CrazyGirl47**

**Summary:**

Fred accidentally starts rumors that he's with Hermione, and encourages them for a laugh. When she find out, she's furious. Now the two of them are fighting to outembarrass and annoy one another... but they're also fighting their feelings for each other.

* * *

**Hope you like the chapter and the fics that I recommended... Tell me what you think!**

**R&R!**


	30. Chapter 27

**Woohoo Another update! Yay me!**

**It's all a Roza and Dimitri fluff so I hope you like!**

**Tal :-***

**PS - Who saw the first episode of the third season of Vampire Diaries? I did! It ROCKED!**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 27

***_*RPOV*_***

Ugh, I feel like I've been through hell and back.

My head is pounding; my chest has a stabbing pain in it every time I take a breath and my back and hip are killing me. Shortly, I feel like shit.

"Shh Roza, everything is going to be okay." I hear Dimitri mumble and then he starts muttering and humming in Russian.

"Bogatýr tý budish s vidu  
i kazak dushoi.  
Pravazhat' tibya ya výdu,  
tý makhnyosh rukoi.

Skolko gorkikh slyoz ukradkoi  
ya f tu notsh pralyu!  
Spi, moi angel, tikho, sladko,  
bayushki bayu."

I may not be a Russian expert, but while living with three Russian dudes for the past five years, I had to at least pick up on some words.

It is some kind of a song, a lullaby. His voice is soft and smooth and I can almost feel myself slipping back to sleep. Vaguely, I remember one of the many times Dimitri woke me up during the night, I think it was the last time he woke me up, and right before I fell back to sleep, I asked him to sing to me. But that must have been more than two hours ago! Was he singing for the last two hours? Why would he?

"Comrade?" I croak out. My throat is dry and my voice is raspy. I clear my throat a few times and try again. "What are you singing?"

Dimitri's humming and singing stops abruptly. "Are you really awake this time?" He asks.

"Were there a lot of false alarms?"

"You were very restless. It didn't do much good that I had to wake you up every three hours. Do you want to go back to sleep? Everyone went out to shop at the festival and Christian took Lissa back to their hotel room." He starts playing with my hair as I lay my cheek back on his chest. I can feel his heartbeat pulsing against my cheek. "I can sing to you again, if you want me to. It seemed to calm you down." He suggests softly, his voice not stronger than a whisper. Maybe he could feel me lolling back to sleep, or maybe he was just too tired himself to speak loudly.

"What's the song you were singing?" I ask him as I draw all kinds of things on his chest. I start to get drowsy and blink my eyes forcefully, trying to stay awake.

"It's a lullaby my mom used to sing to me when I was young," He smiles. "Every time my… father came to visit my mom, I was… let's call it upset." He shrugs and keeps playing with my hair, I'm not even sure he even notices it. His mind is miles away, at a time when Olena – sweet, kind Olena – used to get beaten up by Dimitri's father.

"She would lay next to me on my bad, tuck me under her arms and let me cry on her shoulder. She would sing to me until I fell asleep and then leave to clean up the mess he left every time he visited." Dimitri tries to smile, but it looks more like a grimace. "As I got older the beating got more serious and we switched rules, I would help Ma clean up her wounds, sing to her until she fell asleep and go clean up the blood off the walls. St. Basil Academy is four hours drive from here by train, so Ma managed to convince the girls to stay and live there instead of staying at home, but I wouldn't budge. Every morning, even before the sun went down, I took a train to the academy, and as the school day was over, I took a train back here." Dimitri sighs loudly and rubs his forehead. There's nothing more I want to do than warp my arms around him and take his pain away, but I can see that Dimitri needs to get it off of his chest, and he wouldn't be able to do this if I distract him.

"I worked extra hard at school," He has a sarcastic smile on his face, as if he is mocking himself. "I just wanted to be able to protect my family, to make sure nothing ever hurt them." Dimitri takes a piece of my hair and warps it around his finger. "And as I turned thirteen, I was finally strong enough to face him." He takes a deep breath in and swallows loudly. I know he's not going to tell me what exactly happened that night with his father, and I don't blame him. It must have been awful. "I was scared shitless, but I did it. He didn't come back afterwards ever again, but I stuck to the part of the protective son/brother. As Vika got a little older I practical had to shove boys away from her with a stick," He smiles slightly. "She really was a mini you."

I giggle as I remember the numerous times when people get told they are similar to me and the repeating 'frightening concept' being said afterwards. "You know, at the day Ivan died, I took a vacation so that I could beat up Paul's father." Dimitri says.

I'm so shocked I forget about my resolve to not interrupt. "You did? It's not like you to lose control like this."

"I have the perfect control unless it's something that hurts my family. Well, I had the perfect control until I met you," He smiles for a second, but then his face turn hard again. "After what happened with my father, I promised myself I would never let anyone hurt my girls, and if someone did hurt them, that I won't let him get away with it. As the only man in the house, I felt like it was my duty. After Ivan died, as you know, I started detaching myself from everyone, even my family. I threw myself into finding you and Lissa just so I would have something to do."

Dimitri raises is head slightly off the pillow so that he could look into my eyes and smiles. I can't help but think of how much I love his smiles, his real smiles, the ones he saves to me. "And then, of course, I met you and everything changed. I called my family more and started talking to other people." I smile, too. When he talks about our time together like that, I can almost forget that he doesn't love me anymore, that everything has already changed. Fortunately, I don't forget it completely and don't make a fool off of myself by trying to kiss him every time he talks to me.

"Can you sing for me that song in English? So that I could understand what I says?" I ask timidly.

"Of course, Roza." Dimitri looks into my eyes, and strokes my face softly. I get comfortable on his chest and close my eyes, listening only to his soothing voice.

"_Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,  
Bayushki bayu,  
Quietly the moon is looking  
Into your cradle.  
I will tell you fairy tales,  
And sing you little songs,  
But you must slumber, with your little eyes closed,  
Bayushki bayu._

_The time will come, then you will learn  
The pugnacious life,  
Boldly you'll stem your foot into the stirrup  
And take the gun.  
The saddle-cloth for your battle horse  
I will sew you from silk.  
Sleep now, my dear little child,  
Bayushki bayu._

_You will look like a hero  
And be a Cossack deep in your heart.  
I will hurry to accompany you,  
You will just wave your hand  
How many secret bitter tears  
Will I shed that night!  
Sleep, my angel, calmly, sweetly,  
Bayushki bayu._

_I will die from longing,  
I will wait inconsolably,  
I will pray the whole day long,  
And at night I'll tell fortunes  
I will think that you are in trouble  
Far away in a foreign land.  
Sleep now, as long as you don't know sorrows,  
Bayushki bayu._

_I will give you on your way  
A small holy icon,  
And when you pray to God, you'll  
Put it right in front of you  
When preparing yourself for the dangerous fight  
Please remember your mother.  
Sleep, good boy, my beautiful,  
Bayushki bayu."_

"What is 'Bayushki bayu'?" I ask quietly as Dimitri finishes the song.

"It's the Russian expression to lull a baby to sleep, I didn't know how to translate it, so I just said it in Russian."

"It's beautiful, the song." I murmur.

"It is." We both stay quiet for a few moments, deep in our thoughts.

"I need you to understand Roza," Dimitri suddenly speaks. "When I came here five years ago, and saw how happy my family was to see me - after the initial shock, of course – I knew how much it would hurt them… And I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. I'm so sorry, Roza. I'm so, so, sorry. Please forgive me." Dimitri drops his head back on the pillows, avoiding my eyes. "I just couldn't hurt them like that. I couldn't disappoint them like that."

"Hey," I lift my hand and stroke his hand softly. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you, you didn't want to hurt your family, it's understandable."

"No, it's not. I was a coward who couldn't handle things as they are. I should have told them how stupid I was to take everything good in my life and toss it away. I should have told them what an ass I was to hurt the most amazing, beautiful, smart, sexy as hell, funny, loyal, loving, woman I ever knew, the only woman I ever loved and will always love."

Tears gather in my eyes as he speaks. To hear Dimitri talk about himself like that – with such a hatred, and to hear him talk about me like that… I'm speechless. And then everything he just said settles down in my head and I realize what the last three words he said were.

"Huh?"

"What?" Dimitri smashes his eyebrows together. "Roza? What's wrong?"

"You said you love me." I state. "You said you always will."

"I know you don't feel the same Roza, and I know you're with Denis now. I just need you to know how I feel." He copes my face between his two huge hands and looks into my eyes. "I love you, Roza. I know I already missed my chance years ago but I just want you to know how much I want you. I want to be with you, I want to cherish you, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I shut my yes close. "Please don't say that," I whisper. "Don't say it again."

"Why not? Roza, I lo-"

"Don't!" I shout and open my eyes. "Just don't!"

"Why?"

"Maybe now you think you love me, after five years you didn't see me, but what will happen in a few months? When your love fades again? Would you leave me again, broken and alone? I can't handle that, Dimitri. I just can't!" A tear leaks out of my eye but I quickly wipe it off before Dimitri sees. Rose Hathaway does not cry. Denis is the only one allowed to see me crying.

"I would never leave you alone, Roza." Dimitri states firmly. "Never."

"You already did once," I blink away the tears that are gathering in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Roza. I really didn't want to leave. I tried to fight Nathan off of me but he was so strong and he already bit me and all those endorphins…" Dimitri trails off as my head shot up and I started glaring at him.

"I'm not talking about that, you idiot! Of course it wasn't your fault! I'm talking about court, when you left while I was locked up in a stinky old cell accused of the queen's murder."

"But… but I left for you, Roza. Didn't you get my letter?"

"Huh?"

"I heard quite a few people at court say that they're sure you did this because you were around me. They said, and I quote, 'What more can you expect from a Strigoi lover?'" Dimitri winces as he says that. "I asked Tasha to give you a note explaining why I had to leave. People would have never believed you didn't do it if I stuck around."

"I never got that note." I say. "I guess Tasha forgot to mention it," I shrug.

"Yeah, Tasha forgot to mention a lot of things, like the fact that she's a killer." A look of fury settles onto Dimitri's face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

"Tasha was the one who killed Tatiana. She tried to frame you so that she could get away with it but the guardians found the gloves she used to stake the queen without leaving prints and they found her skin cells inside of it. She's in Tarasov until she'll be executed."

"Wait, you mean to tell me that Tasha, Sparky's Aunt and your friend, Tasha, killed Tatiana and tried to frame me?" I ask, stunned.

"Yeah, pretty much." Dimitri shrugs.

"And she's going to get executed,"

"Yup."

"And that doesn't bother you at all? I mean, she was your friend, don't you feel sorry for her?"

"Not at all. She tried to frame you with murder, Roza. I already told you how I feel about people that hurt the ones I love. I would be happy to kill the bitch myself if I can."

As much as his words touch my heart, I can't help but wince as he says that he loves me again.

"I already asked you not to say that," I say in a small voice.

"And I already told you I'm not going to leave again. I don't expect you to say it back, Roza. I just want you to know how much I love you."

"Your love has faded once, it can fade again." I say in an even smaller voice, one I'm not sure he even heard.

"My love has never faded, Roza. Ever since I laid my eyes on you I loved you and I never stopped. Not for a second. Even as a Strigoi I tried to hide in Russia so that you can't find me. That didn't end up well but I really tried at first."

"But you said… At church…" I stutter. "You said…"

"I know what I said, Roza and I'm very sorry. I lied because I tried to keep you away from me. I knew you deserve someone better than me. Someone that can provide you kids and will benefit you reputation, not destroy it. Someone who didn't hurt you like I did. Someone better."

"You lied?" I ask as my throat suddenly becomes dry.

Dimitri nods his head. "I did. As if there was a way for me to stop loving you, Roza." He passes his finger through my hair. "You're the love of my life, Roza. I love you so much it hurts."

The tears I've been suppressing the whole conversation come flowing out of my eyes. "I you don't really mean it, Dimitri, please say it now. I won't be able to handle it later if you don't say it now."

"I mean it, Roza. I love you with every fiber of my being. I can barely live without you and I know you're with Denis now, you've moved on and I'm happy for you that you found someone so much better than me, Roza."

"I'm not with Denis," I hiccup. "I tried, but I just couldn't get you out of my mind."

"Why couldn't you get me out of your mind?" He asks softly, with his warm eyes looking straight into mine, practically reaching my soul.

"Because I…" Should I tell him? If I do, there won't be a way back, but he said he loves me, and that he never stopped loving me. Should I believe it? "Because I…" I take a deep breath. "I…"

"You what, Roza?"

"I… I love you, too. I never stopped."

"What?"

"I love you, Dimitri Belikov. I always have." I say loud and clearly. I have no idea where this courage is coming from but I'm sure as hell happy I suddenly got it.

"Say it again," He says.

I cop Dimitri's cheek with my hand, looking right into his deep brown eyes, and without blinking, say, "I love you."

"That's all I need to know," Dimitri breaths out and smashes his lips on mine.

It was hungry, needy, and almost savage.

Dimitri groans in approval as he grips my backside and pulls me closer to him. I ground my hips against his and we both moan.

His mouth tastes like mint and I can't help but groan as out tongues are fighting for dominance.

"Roza," Dimitri groans. I moan into his mouth in return.

I feel like my heart is about to burst, every fiber of my body feels like it's on fire. Dimitri pulls me closer to his body and rolls us over so that he could be on top. I release his hair from the rubber holding it resting on his nape and pass my fingers through his silk hair, pulling on it slightly and eliciting a moan from Dimitri.

_Love fades, mine has._

Dimitri's voice from that day at the court's church suddenly pops into my head.

"Wait, wait, wait." I try to say with Dimitri's lips still attached to mine. "Dimitri, stop."

Dimitri slowly pulls his lips away from mine and opens his eyes. "What's wrong, Roza?"

"I can't do this," I breathe out. "I just can't. I keep thinking you're going to leave again or tell me your love has faded." I pass my fingers through his hair again. "I know what you said but I can't help it."

"But-"

"Let's just… "I swallow loudly. "Let's try to be friends, okay? I'm going to stay here until Vika's wedding and we'll meet again in Liss's wedding. Let's just… be friends for now, okay Dimitri? I really can't handle anything more than that."

I can see the look of disappointment in Dimitri's eyes as he nods. "Whatever you want, Roza."

I smile. "Thank you, Dimitri. Now, could you… Umm… Get off of me? It's getting pretty awkward."

Dimitri looks surprised that he's still on top of me, with his hands on my ass, no less, and quickly untangles himself from me.

"Can you please sing to me again, Comrade?" I ask. "I'm pretty tired." That statement is followed by a huge yawn from me.

"Of course, Roza." I settle back on my pillow right next to Dimitri's and close my eyes.

Спи, младенец мой прекрасный,  
Баюшки-баю.  
Тихо смотрит месяц ясный  
В колыбель твою.  
Стану сказывать я сказки,  
Песенку спою;  
Ты ж дремли, закрывши глазки,  
Баюшки-баю.

Сам узнаешь, будет время,  
Бранное житье;  
Смело вденешь ногу в стремя  
И возьмешь ружье.  
Я седельце боевое  
Шелком разошью...  
Спи, дитя мое родное,  
Баюшки-баю.

***_* DPOV *_***

As I lay here and watch Roza slowly fall asleep again as I sing to her the lullaby Ma used to sing when I was young, I can't help but wonder how much I'd hurt her. She said she can't be with me because she's afraid I'll leave again, because she's afraid my love would fade. Well, then I would just have to show her that I really do love her and that I'm not giving up on her, on us.

I promise you, Roza, I'll do whatever I can to make you trust me again. I'll get you back, my Roza.

I smile as I hear Roza snore softly and close my eyes, trying to catch some sleep.

I fell Roza turning around and cuddling into my arms.

_Exactly where she belongs._

Roza lets out a content sigh and I kiss her forehead softly, trying not to wake her up.

"Sweet dreams, My Roza." I whisper right before I fall asleep.

* * *

**R&R!**

**Here are the fic's recommendations for this chapter:**

******The first fic is a VA fic and it's called **'Russian Swear Words' **by Ms. Damon Salvatore**

**Summary:**

So Dimitri's finally gonna teach Rose some Russian Swear words. T for Swearing and probably cuz with Rose and Dimitri things are going to get hot and heavy :D RosexDimitri. Lots of Fluff and humor, and probably the most random story you have ever read.

**The second fic is a Twilight fic and it's called **'Dear Bella Swan, you're Playing with the Big Boys' **by Dobber17**

**Summary:**

All Human. One day in gym class, Forks High learns that Bella Swan can kick. The football team needs a kicker. The result of that: Bella makes the football team. The problem: None of the guys want a girl on their team. ExB

**The third and last for this chapter is an HP fic and it's called **'Why Draco Should Not Be Using Tampons' **by Padfoot the Marauder**

**Summary:**

Draco and Hermione, like all newly appointed Head Boys and –Girls before them, are assigned to switch bodies for the first week of term to ensure a prosperous collaboration between them in the future. HGDM


	31. Chapter 28

**Oh my god I'm so sorry!**

**My life has been crazy lately! I got out of the hospital and had to catch up on everything I missed in school and now I'm in the middle of the exams period and I started a psychology class in the open university even though I'm just fifteen! Shortly, I'm surprised I managed to UD at all!**

**Don't worry, I will never leave this story unfinished, so even if I disappear for a bit, always know I will be back.**

**I'll try to UD sooner next time.**

**Now, I don't really like the interview part and the whole letter thing so tell me what you think.**

**Love you all,**

**Tal =]**

**BTW - I saw Breaking Dawn on Wedensday... It ROCKED!**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 28

***_*RPOV*_***

It had been six days since Lissa and mine encounter with the Strigois and things aren't looking so good right now.

Every time Lissa finds herself in the same room with me, she immediately turns her gaze to the floor, mumbles some lame excuse and flees the room. Every single time.

I really don't get her. So yeah, I almost sent her unconscious body to a group of blood thirsty Strigois, but I wasn't in a right state of mind at the time. And, at the end I saved her. That has to count for something, right?

And besides, I managed to stop myself _before_ I could hurt her, which is something I can't say about her. She stabbed me, for god's sake! Of course, I don't blame her. I heard exactly what that voice told her, and I can understand that she wasn't in her right mind. But why can't she understand the same for me? I was affected by that voice too!

Or maybe, she's mad that I wasn't able to kill the Strigois before things got so out of hand. I mean, I'm 'The Killer', I should be able to take care of a few Strigois without breaking a sweat. Yeah, she's probably pissed about that. I mean, she wasn't even conscious when that voice spoke to me. To say the truth, I'm pissed about that too. What the hell happened that night?

Adrian had healed me as soon as he came to the Belikov's house and Denis, Artur and Lev came to visit me after that, to check how I feel. I didn't tell anyone that Lissa was the one who stabbed me and from what I could see, neither did Lissa.

And then there's the thing with Dimitri. His sisters refuse to talk to him and even Olena isn't as warm as she used to be while talking to her only son. I feel kinda sorry for him; no one can decide who to love, and who not to love. Believe me, I know. Plus, ever since our kiss in his bed, (which, for the next couple of weeks, is my bed too.) things between us had changed. He acts like he can't get his hands off of me and to say the truth, I _really_ don't mind. Now, one of his hands has to be touching me every time he is at a touching distance, which is very often, not that I'm complaining. He didn't say that he loves me again, but sometimes he gives me those looks and I'm sure the next words out of his mouth are going to be just that, but the words never come out. Actually, I'm glad he doesn't say it because I know I won't be able to stop myself from jumping his bones and I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet.

I don't know if Dimitri is only interested in me now because he feels guilty for leaving me while I was a murder suspect, if he's just interested now because he sees me with Denis and will get tired of me soon or if he has been telling the truth siz days ago and really loves me. Whatever his reasons are, I'm sure I won't be able to stand being rejected again by Dimitri, so I prefer not even risk it.

In a few months' time I'll be out again hunting for Strigois'. I'll see Dimitri again in Lissa's wedding at court but after that, I won't have to ever see him again. I could go back to the life I had for the last five years. It may not be perfectly safe for my body, but it's safer for my heart that way.

Anyway, today is the first task of the black moon festival and I, as this festival's heroin, have to make an impressing entrance, wearing clothes that represent 'me' and wheeled in on a carriage while waving to the cheering crowd. Ugh.

Don't get me wrong, I always loved attention and I still do. But, my big entrance is in a few hours and I still have no idea what I'm going to wear or what I'm going to do in this task. And besides, I don't even want to participate in this festival. I know a lot of women here in Baia would love to be in my shoes right now but for me, the festival is just another cause that delays my leave, and I don't like it. Well, that not entirely true. I would love to spend the rest of my life here with the Belikovs, but I still have some Strigois waiting to be killed (I like to think of it as saved) and also, I'm afraid of getting back together with Dimitri and getting hurt again. Shortly, I need to leave, ASAP.

Mia's morning sickness has started and both Mia and Eddie are excited. They have a doctor's appointment later today and they plan on telling the good news to everyone after everything is confirmed.

Right now, I'm standing in front of Dimitri's closet, (I refuse to think of it as my closet.) looking at the very few items on the shelves Dimitri cleared for my things and trying to decide what I'm going to wear for today. How a few pieces of fabric can be 'me'?

"Rose, it's Christian. Can I come in? I have something for you." Christian's voice sounds through the door, followed by two knocks.

"Sure," I call. "Come in, Fire Pants."

"Very mature, Rose." Christian walks into the room with one eyebrow raised. "Didn't you grow up at all in the last few years?" He asks.

"Nope. You said you have something for me? If it's not important can it wait 'til later? I'm trying to find clothes that represent 'me'."

"Actually, this is why I'm here," He says and hands me a bag.

"You're here because of my clothes?"

"Yeah. I got you this as a thank you present. You should wear it today for the first task." He scratches the back of his head and looks kind of lost as I open the bag and pull out black unitard that would cover me from ankle to neck, followed by shiny leather boots which laces up to my knees. The boots are 5 inch heels and are made of silver. The last item in the bag is a fluttering cape, also black.

Usually, Lissa would help me get ready for these kinds of events and my guess is that since Lissa doesn't speak to me, Christian feels like it's his duty to fill her place. Even though the sweetness of his actions, I can't help but feeling disappointed. Black unitard, black cape and black high heels boots? Are those the clothes that represent me? And what's with all the black? Not to mention that the unitard is made out of a very thin fabric, one that won't warm me at all.

"Umm Christian, that's very sweet of you to bring me those, but don't you think I'll get cold? We are in Russia, you know." I guess those last five years really did change me. I have never acted so kindly to others, especially Christian, five years ago.

"You won't be cold, I promise. So, would you wear it today?" He asks me with excited eyes. A little too excited, but I pay no attention to that.

"Umm… Sure, why not?" I say. What the hell, I don't have anything else to wear anyway.

"Great. I'll leave you to get dressed and ready." He turns around to walk out of the room but at the moment his hand rests on the handle, I stop him.

"Hey, Christian?" I call. "You said this was a thank you gift. What are you thanking me for?"

"Six days ago, when I came to pick up Liss, Dimitri told me you carried her all the way here even though you were hurt and bleeding. This is just a gift to thank you for always taking care of Liss."

He looks straight into my eyes as he speaks. I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes and I blink them back.

"You have nothing to thank me for, Christian." I say quietly.

"I disagree," He whispers back before getting out of the room and leaving me to get ready for my big entrance.

***_* Bad Always Leads To Good *_***

Oh my freaking god, it's cold out here! What the hell happened to Christian's brain when he got me these clothes? What was he thinking? That we are on a beach in Thailand?

Although I still don't know how the clothes represent me, I wear them on -20 degrees outside as I consider the perks of ripping Christian's head off once again. I told him I would be cold in these clothes. Did nobody tell him that it was the Russian winter that beat the French army?

"Miss Hathaway, are you ready?" The carriage's driver asks. "We need to start moving now."

"Sure," I say as I climb on the carriage and put my hands on my hips, ready to be wheeled in front of the excited crowd.

As soon as the carriage turns at the end of the alley and reveals me to everyone, the cold vanishes from my body and leaves a tingly feeling of warmth on my skin. I sigh with relief as I absorb the warmth and smile hugely.

The audience 'Ohh's and 'Aww's at me as I come into view. At first, I don't know what the big deal is. I mean, my attire isn't some fancy thing that would leave a lot of impression. Nothing unusual or special (Although I really don't think someone will walk around with a cape warped around his neck but you get what I mean).

The warm feeling in my body spreads through all of it, starting with the back of my neck and slowly reaches my back, my arms and stomach. The warmth covers my legs and warps itself around me completely, saving me from hypothermia.

And then I realize why the crowd is so awed and how come suddenly I feel like I'm standing next to a warm stove when just a few seconds ago I was afraid my toes will start falling. I am covered in flames.

I'm covered in flames? Flames! Why the hell is nobody doing anything? I'm covered in flames! Call the fire department, bring a water hose, roll me in sand, something!

Oh I'll probably be the first heroin to fail so fast in the festival. I mean, I didn't even reach the first task yet!

Wait, I can control fire. Why won't I just put the flames out before I'll be burnt to crisp.

My hands are still placed on my hips. I concentrate carefully on deflecting the flames. I push the magic through my palms and force it to warp itself around the flames, to terminate it before it gets out of control.

I can feel the soft glow of the magic as it engulfs the fire completely. Now, I close my eyes and channel my energy on suffocating the raging fire. But, as I open my eyes, I'm still bursting in flames. And how the hell don't I feel the heat? I'm supposed to at least be screeching in pain right now, but all I feel is some kind of fuzzy warmth.

What the fuck is going on here?

As I catch Christian's eyes in the crowd and he smirks at my terrified face and gives me thumbs up, I suddenly understand.

I can't control the fire because these aren't normal flames. Christian's gift isn't the clothes he had given me; it's the entrance to the festival. An amazing entrance, an entrance no one would ever forget.

As a newly made fire user, I know how much energy it takes to control this kind of fire, mainly because Christian tried to teach me how to do this a few days ago. We both almost passed out from exhaustion at the end of the lesson.

A kind of fire that would cling to my thin unitard but would only give me a nice feeling of warmth instead of blazing heat? Christian is going to be exhausted at the end of this thing.

I give send a little scolding look at Christian's way. I mean, he could have told me he was going to do that! I was terrified when I first saw I was in flames. He probably did it on purpose as a revenge for almost dropping him on the floor the first night everyone came to Russia. Fine, if that's what he wants that's what he's gonna get.

Christian smirks again and I smirk back, we may not be as close as Lissa and I are, or at least were, but I know we both understand what just happened now. A prank war is in our very near future, and it's going to be messy. Very messy.

I turn away from Christian's direction and start waving and sending kisses at the crowd. Now, that I'm sure I'm not going to burn to crisp, I feel more confident in my ability to charm the crowd. I wink at guys and smile at excited little girls.

The carriage keeps driving me towards the stage, navigating through rows of ecstatic people.

Yes, I can see now. This outfit represents me perfectly. 'Rose, the fire girl', 'Rose, the girl who was on fire'. I hadn't heard of this kind entrance yet, from what I was told, most heroines wore a pretty dress. But not me, I would be known as the festival's heroin that was covered in flames. Even if I wouldn't be able to succeed in all the tasks, I would be remembered long after the festival will be over. I love it. Well, like I said, I always loved attention and that hadn't changed.

As the carriage finally reaches the stage, I carefully step on it and send a final wave and kiss to the crowd.

My eyes meet Christian's again. He makes the tiniest circular motion with his finger, but I know what he's saying.

Twirl for me.

I consider that for a moment. I mean, if I start twirling for no apparent reason and nothing will happen, I'll look like an idiot. But, if Christian has some plan which he needs me to twirl for, it will make my entrance truly memorable.

I decide to trust Christian. I mean, look at what he has done with my outfit.

I spin in a circle once and the reaction is immediate. The fire around me intensifies and the crowd starts mumbling excitedly. I twirl a couple more times and the wall of fire around me gets more and more intense until no one could see me behind it. I do one more twirl and the fire disappears abruptly, as if it never existed.

Silence spreads through the crowd for a few moments as everyone look at me in awe, and then everyone start mumbling again, even louder than before.

"Wow. We sure as hell weren't expecting that kind of entrance." Anna calls into the microphone from her place beside me on the stage. "Rosemarie Hathaway, our new festival's heroin!" She announces.

Anna waits as everyone claps. When they all quiet down she starts talking again. "Well Rose, we certainly didn't anticipate _that_ entrance. Tell me, what went through your mind when you were up on that carriage?"

I give her my best charming smile. "Well, at first I was like 'Hey, it's not so cold anymore, maybe my toes won't fall off." And then I was like 'Oh my god I'm on fire! Someone help me!' and then lastly I was like 'Cool, the flames can't hurt me. I'm incredible!'" Everyone laugh as I send the crowd a dazzling smile.

"So you're saying you weren't the one who planned this entrance?" Anna asks conversationally.

"Yup. Sadly, I can't take credit for this amazing idea." I pause. "Mostly because the blue eyed fire monster who gave me these clothes is in the crowd, and will no doubt burn me for real if I do take the credit, but still." I shrug.

Anna throes her head back and laughs loudly. _See,_ I tell myself. _You can do this. It's not so bad, is it?_

No, it's not so bad at all.

"So, Rose. At most of the festivals we all already know the heroin because she's local but since you are the Belikovs' guest, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself?"

Oh shit! Not good not good not good. Why the hell did nobody tell there would be an interview? I thought I'd just wave for the crowd a bit, get my task and be on my way!

_Okay Rose,_ I tell myself again. _Don't panic. Take a deep breath and think. What can you say?_

I don't even want to be in this stupid festival! Why the hell am I still in Baia anyway? Oh yeah, because I _promised._

"Well, my name is Rose Hathaway," _Great, Rose, they already know that! _"I'll be staying with the Belikovs' at their house for the next few months." _They already know that too, moron!_

My eyes search the crowd as I try to think of something interesting to say, something that won't make me look like an idiot in front of the whole Baia population.

As my eyes meet two deep pools of liquid chocolate, I immediately calm down a notch.

"To tell you the truth, Anna." I say in the most ashamed voice I could muster; as if I'm deeply embarrassed. "I really don't know what to say."

"Why don't you tell us a bit about your life? Like, do you have a job?" Anna asks and I send her a little glare. She found out what my job is six days ago and she knows exactly why nobody else can know about this particular job.

Apparently, Anna's question was out of pure instinct as an interviewer, because as soon as she realizes her mistake, she hurries to add. "Or anything else about yourself. What is your favorite thing in the whole world?"

My eyes drawn to Dimitri's figure standing at the end of the crowd. Our gazes meet briefly but I hurry to focus on something else. I place my man-eater smile on my face and throw my long hair behind my shoulder. "Well, I'd have to say my most favorite thing in the whole world is Olena Belikov's Black Bread; but my family follows closely after."

I get a lot of laughs from the crowd, which makes me suspect a lot of people here in Baia agree with me on this.

"I can promise you that we all understand you, Rose." Anna smiles. "Why don't you tell us a bit about your family?"

"Well, I have a pretty big family," I start. "I consider the people closest to me my family, so at the end of the day I have something like one father, one grandmother, two mothers, two nephews, a niece," _Okay, that was the easy part. Now to start counting all of the people I consider brothers and sisters._ I start counting on my fingers. _Lissa, Vika, Mia, Carolina, Sonya and Jill. _"Six sisters," _Lev, Artur, Christian, Eddie, Adrian and Nicolai._ "And seven brothers." I conclude. I see Dimitri and Denis sending each other glares in the crowd and realize I hadn't counted neither of them as my brother. Well, I guess it is understandable since those two are the only men I ever had sex with. And the fact that Dimitri is the love of my life.

"Well, I planned on asking you a bit more about your family, but I'm afraid we won't have time with the number of brothers and sisters you have, Rose." Anna smiles. "Why don't you just tell us how you met the Belikovs and we'll move to the announcement of your first task, okay?"

"Sure," I say. "Well, Dimitri Belikov was my mentor in St. Vladimir's Academy," I start. Most of the people here had already met me on Dimitri's 'funeral' or at least heard about me after the funeral so they know Dimitri wasn't just my mentor, but I feel no need to bring up my past involvement with Dimitri right now.

"When I was eighteen years old I came here to Baia and met the rest of the Belikov family. I stayed with them for a few weeks but had to leave to do something." I flinch a bit at that. "About two weeks ago I came back here to Baia and met everyone again." I shrug, but hurry to add "Now, what about that task?" Before Anna could ask some questions I really don't want to answer.

My question is followed by a lot of cheers and whistles from the excited crowd.

"Okay, okay, I know when to stop talking." Anna raises her hand in surrender. "Let's check if the envelope is here yet."

Some old dude who reminds me very much of Yeva hands Anna a sealed gold envelope, which drags a collective gasp out of everyone in the crowd.

"What?" I ask.

"The envelopes of the tasks are always white. A gold envelope was never used in any of the past festivals, but the stories say the golden task is ." Yeva, which is probably the only person in the crowd who isn't shocked into silence, calls. Her explanation breaks the spell on the rest of the people and everyone starts talking at once.

Anna waits until everyone quiets down before handing me the golden envelope. My hands shake a little as I break the wax seal and pull out a piece of parchment.

_**Some try to hide, some try to cheat, but time will show, we always will meet.  
Try as you might, to guess my name, I promise you'll know, when you I do claim.**_

As I read the first paragraph out loud, the crowd goes deathly quiet.

_**For years the fear of Strigois has ruled Baia.**_

_**Our little town has suffered great loss at the hand of a Strigoi which had decided to pick the population of Baia as his victims. This Strigoi has to be stopped.**_

_**The chosen heroin's first task may as well be her last. The heroin will arrive to the Strigoi's residence and will kill the Strigoi. By doing that she will save a lot of people from a terrible fate. If the heroin shall not accept this task, a new heroin will be chosen and will be sent to fight the monster.**_

_**Some may argue that the path of discovering one's true self is a very though journey. However one cannot be expected to readily follow blind directions.**_

_**Dear heroin, consider your options before taking the task upon yourself. You may not come back the way you left.**_

_**If indeed you choose this option, be warned, dear friend. By accepting, you may find greatness, but you may also find yourself in great danger.**_

_**You have half an hour to make up your mind. Use it smartly.**_

Well, isn't that lovely? I'm gonna kick some Strigoi's ass!

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**R&R!**

**Tell me what you think!**

**So, here are the fic's reccomendation for today:**

**The first fic is a VA fic and it's called** 'Can't Ignore' **by Shadow-Kissed Roza**

**Summary:**

Dimitri is trying to deny his feelings towards Rose. But when Rose can't do the same what happens when she starts getting a little to close to Adrian. What will Dimitri do when he starts to get jealous? Alot more happens so R&R!

**The second fic is a Twilight fic and it's called **'Fallen Angel' **by Edwardsfallenangel**

**Summary:**

After being bullied by the Cullen's and Hale's for years Bella leaves and becomes a famous model. But now shes back, what will the group think of what they think is the new girl and what will Edward think of her payback. AH

**The third and last for this chapter is an HP fic and it's called **'Roommates' **by rinny08**

**Summary:**

COMPLETE Hermione needs a place to stay and ends up getting more than she bargained for.


	32. Chapter 29

**Yeah, I know it took forever. I have no excuse.**

**I just hope you guys didn't give up on this story because I'm not nearly done yet ;)**

**Hope you like,**

**Tal :-***

**PS: I'm not putting any fic's reccomendations today 'cause I'm just too tired and it's the middle of the night =P**

* * *

**Bad always leads to good**

Chapter 29

***_*RPOV*_***

"No way! You are not accepting this task, Little Girl! I will not allow that!" Abe yells; I see little bits of spit flying out of his mouth. Ew.

"I'm going to do it, Old Man." I sigh. "You can stop fussing like a worried mother. I'm a big girl, Dad."

"That's what you said about the whole 'Killer' thing, Rose. This is different. That Strigoi is the oldest Strigoi known to man, and he isn't living alone." Abe looks around at the family surrounding us in Denis, Artur and Lev's new place (Nicolai's old apartment), which is conveniently located in a building close to the place where my grand entrance took place. "I want to remind you the last time you got into a Strigoi's layer here in Russia. Good thing we had Oksana with us or you would still have the scares on your neck." Everyone in the room around us shudders; and Dimitri gets a haunted look in his eyes.

"That was a long time ago, Father." I hiss. "I have my powers now, I've killed a lot of Strigois in the last five years. I can do this!" I argue.

Why am I even talking about this? I should use the time I have to plan a successful attack.

"This isn't some newborn Strigoi, Roza." Olena adds. "Eight years ago, a royal Moroi has been slathered by that Strigoi. The queen sent sixteen guardians from her guards to take care of the Strigoi. They were all dead within half an hour. Sixteen guardians from the Royal Guard, Rose! What chance do you have?"

_Damn! Sixteen Royal Guardians? I might have slightly underestimated that Strigoi's power._

"If I won't go they'll send someone else, Olena! What do you want me to do? Let some other girl get killed? They don't all have the experience I have!"

"As harsh as it sounds right now, Rose, we just don't care." Liss snaps. "We don't care how much experience you have, or that you now have your new powers, or what will happen if you say no. The only thing we care about right now is you and keeping you safe, which we won't be able to do if you accept this task."

_Well, I guess she isn't mad anymore._ I think to myself. _I really should talk to her about this before I leave._

"Well, I'm not going to let some clueless girl just waltz right into the lion's den. I won't. And I know I can kill this Strigoi, I will kill this Strigoi." I say. "I've killed a lot of Strigois already, and I'm not going to change my mind about this. So instead of wasting our time on pointless argues, help me form a plan of action."

"You won't need a plan of action because you won't live long enough to go through with it, Rosie. There's a reason why Lev, Artur and I never told you about this Strigoi, we knew you would want to hunt him and we couldn't let you do that. A lot of our friends from the Academy had planned an attack on the mansion where the Strigoi stays a few years ago. None of them had come back." Denis pleads with me. "Please don't do this, Rosie, please. We can't lose you."

"Why are you all so frightened?" I ask. "He is just a Strigoi. We were trained to kill those all of our lives. What's so different about this one?"

"He is not _just_ a Strigoi, Rose. This is what you don't understand." Lev snaps. "He is the strongest and oldest Strigoi in the world. He had built an army of the most vicious and cruel Strigois as his servants and they are all living with him. He is the Lord Voldemort of our world, Rose."

I snort at that. "Nice comparison, Lev. Very intelligent of you to use Harry Potter's characters to try to make me take this more seriously." I try to joke, but everyone stays silent.

"This _is_ serious, Roza. If you won't quit this task I will go tell Anna myself that I'm switching places with you." Olena glares at me. I swear, I've never seen anyone looking so frightening before. "I'd like to see you handling that."

"You wouldn't." I glare back.

"Oh I will. If you think this Strigoi is so harmless then why won't you let me go? I'm not a clueless little girl, I've been a guardian before I got pregnant." Olena taunts. I don't know what has gotten into her. Where is my sweet Olena who can't hurt a fly? Not here, that's for sure. Oh no, Olena is in a full Mama Bear mood right now.

"That is completely different. You hadn't trained in years, you don't have as much experience as I have and you don't have my powers." I state.

"You can't trust your powers, Rose. You don't know if you'll be able to use them." Lissa whispers. "Think Rose, remember what happened the last time you couldn't control your powers, remember what I did. You're relying on your powers too much."

"What did Lissa do?" Nicolai asks.

"Nothing," I hiss.

Lissa and Christian share a meaningful look, which makes me think that maybe Christian isn't as clueless as he should be about 'what happened last time I couldn't control my powers'.

Christian takes Lissa's hand in his. He gives her an encouraging smile and a small nod of his head. So small, that nobody else but me even noticed. They were all still puzzled about what Lissa said and my reaction to her words to see the almost unnoticeable interaction between Christian and Lissa.

I sense overwhelming waves of guilt and shame coming off of Lissa. Her eyes get watery and as she sees me looking at her, trying to convince her not to do what I know she's about to do, she immediately drops her gaze to the floor.

"I stabbed Rose," She whispers quietly. She was so quiet; I hoped no one could hear her. But, unfortunately, Olena heard her say _something._

"What was that, Dear?"

Lissa steals another look at Christian before taking a deep breath in and releasing it slowly. Her gaze meets mine again before settling on a spot near Eddie's foot. "Last week, when Rose and I were attacked by Strigois," Liss starts, a bit louder this time. "She… I… Her powers didn't work… And that voice told me… I just wanted to see my family again… I didn't think… I wasn't…" Lissa is in a full on crying mood right now. Christian lays a hand on her back and leads her to the sofa, where he places her in his lap and mumbles things to her ear while rubbing soothing circles across her back. We all follow the two to the sofa and sit down around them, forming a circle.

"Lissa dear, we don't understand. What happened last week? What made you so upset?" Olena asks softly, too afraid of another breakdown but also too worried to keep quiet.

Lissa sends Christian a pleading look, but he shakes his head, deep sorrow in his blue eyes. "You need to be the one telling them, Liss." He says. "I wish I could, but I don't know all the details. Either Rose will tell them, which I really don't think will happen, or you will have to."

Lissa opens her mouth again, but nothing comes out.

Denis switches his gaze from Liss to me. "What's going on, Rosie?" He asks. "What happened last week? What is Lissa trying to tell us?" Everyone is now staring at me, looking for an explanation.

I sigh. "Lissa and I ran into some Strigois, my powers didn't work and I didn't have my stake with me. I fought with a few Strigois, I got stabbed, Lissa passed out, my powers came back and I killed them all. End of story." I say in an emotionless tone. "I guess I just wasn't focused enough at first. It won't happen again." Okay, so I dropped out a few details. So what? That's actually what happened just with fewer details. Like the darkness convincing Liss and I to kill each other and Lissa being the one that stabbed me. Nothing they need to know.

I guess my speech did the opposite of what I intended it to do, because it gave Lissa enough motivation to start talking. Why do I get the feeling that lately, all of my secrets are revealed one by one? Oh, right, because it's true.

"Stop trying to protect me, Rose. That's not what happened and you know it. How can you even look at me after what I did to you?" Liss starts crying again. "I stabbed you, Rose. I tried to kill you." Gasps fill the room, but I keep my eyes focused on Lissa face as she sobs. "Why don't you hate me?" She whispers. "You should hate me."

Christian and I share a look. We both stand up at the same time and switch places. He sits in my place between Lev and Artur and I sit in his place, and place Liss in my lap, like a little girl. "Of course I don't hate you, Liss." I say softly. "How could I? You weren't in your right mind. That voice affected you. Of course you'd want to see your family. It's not your fault."

Silence spreads across the room. I consider keep talking just to avoid this kind of silence, but Denis beats me to it. "Rosie, I need you to explain this to me again, because from what I understood from what you and Lissa just said, Lissa tried to kill you, and that's impossible, so please explain."

I sigh again. "It's not what it sounds like, guys." I start, but get interrupted by Anna bursting into the room.

"Finally!" She calls. "It has been forty-five minutes, Rose. You are late for your declaration. Everyone were sure you ran away after you heard what your task is after we couldn't find you. But I knew you wouldn't do that. I mean, with you being 'The Killer' and all."

"She doesn't accept the task!" Abe barks. I can see that Anna is startled by the hostility in Abe's glare, and I understand her. When Zmey looks at someone like that, that person needs to start running, and fast.

"Don't listen to the old man, Anna." I say, Lissa still in my lap. "I accept the task; I just need some more time with my family. I promise I'll be on my way to the Strigoi's den in less than three hours." I ignore the protesting calls all around me. "Is that okay?" I ask.

Anna's eyes widen at my attitude towards Abe. I guess she never saw anyone talking like that to Zmey and keeping both of his kneecaps unbroken. She nods slowly. "On one hand, we never gave a heroin more time than what was given in the letter but on the other hand, none of the other heroines had ever got such a dangerous mission on the first mission, or ever, actually. I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you," I smile as she leaves the apartment, and then turn to face my family.

"I know you don't agree with my choice, but you can't do anything about it, so don't even try." I start. I can see most of them are about to argue anyway, so I hurriedly add. "Now, do you want me to explain what happened last week or not?" That shuts them up. Liss drops her head on my shoulder and shuts her eyes as I start.

"Last week, after I left to run and Liss followed me, we were attacked by ten Strigois. I was without my stake and when I tried to use my powers I found out I couldn't. We started fighting hand to hand combat until one Strigoi landed a hit on me and threw me aside. He grabbed Lissa by her neck, and she tried to compel him to let her go."

I pause for a second when Liss hides her head her face at the nape of my neck, trying to hide herself from everyone's looks. "I was sucked into Lissa's head. There was a voice in her head that convinced her it's my entire fault and that she should kill me."

I pause again when Liss raises her head. Her watery eyes survey everyone in the room before she opens her mouth. "The… The voice told me Rose didn't love me, that she was using me and that my family is hurt that I saved her and not them." Mia puts her hands over her mouth in shock. She knows how much Liss Miss' her family. Lissa shuts her eyes again, remembering what that voice said. "It kept telling me 'Kill her, and get your family back'"

Now, Mia is not the only one with her hands on her mouth. Lissa drops her head back on my shoulder and I continue telling the story.

"I was stuck in Lissa's head, so I couldn't help her. She shook the Strigoi off of her and took a knife out of his pocket."

"A butcher's knife." Lissa mumbles and Olena gasps.

"She stabbed me in the chest and hit my ribs. The pain brought me back to my body and I took away all of her darkness. Then she passed out." I stop here, not sure if I should continue or not. Lissa doesn't know I tried to kill her, and I'm afraid of her reaction. But, by revealing the whole truth I might be able to show Liss that she's not the only one who was affected by that voice. It might make her hate herself less; never mind the fact that she's going to hate me. She comes first; always.

"I didn't really pass out," Lissa says. "I was inside Rose's head." She admits.

She was? Oh man, this is not good. Why didn't she tell me? "You were? Why didn't you tell me?"

I try to catch her gaze, but she refuses to look into my eyes. "I… I heard what that voice told you." She mumbles.

Oh. She's upset about what that voice said about her.

"Liss," I sigh. "I know what that voice said about you is not true, just like I'm sure you know what that voice said about me isn't true. I love you and I understand your anger about what I almost did completely. I'm a guardian, I'm supposed to protect you and I did the complete opposite. I'm very sorry, Liss."

Liss lifts her head from my shoulders and looks into my eyes. "What are you talking about?" She asks in a trembling voice.

"You have no idea how sorry I am that I believed that voice… To think that I tried to…" I shudder at the thought. "I understand why you are mad at me, Liss, but you have to understand that I would never want to hurt you, and to think that I almost did…"

"Of course I'm not mad at you!" Lissa bursts and stands up to glare down at me.

"You're not?" I ask, shocked.

"I am now!" She yells. "How could you even think that?" She pauses for a second so that she could breathe some air in before her next outburst, but before she could continue Vika intervenes.

"Could someone _please_ explain what's going on? What did that voice tell you, Roza? What did you almost do? And why the fuck would Lissa be mad at you?"

"Viktoria Jane Belikov! Watch your language! You are not too old for me to wash your mouth with water and soap." Olena admonishes.

Vika blushes ten shades of red. "Sorry, Ma. But really, what's going on?"

"What's going on," Lissa says loudly, still annoyed with my assumption. "Is that after Rose took the darkness from me I was sucked into her head. That voice started saying things to her, much worse things than it did to me, and it convinced her to kill me."

Again, gasps fill the room. "But Rose managed to stop herself in time before she could hurt me and she used all the darkness in her to kill the Strigois." Everyone breathe in in relief when Liss tells them I stopped myself before hurting her.

It bugs me how Lissa could be so hard on herself but at the same time, tell the story in a way to make me look like the hero instead of the monster. "I tried," I say. "I actually lifted her body off the ground and planned on sending her into a group of ten bloodthirsty Strigois. The only reason I didn't do it is that when I lifted her using the darkness, my mind got clearer."

"But you didn't!" Lissa bursts. "Don't you see the difference, Rose? The voice told me that if I'd kill you, I'd get my family back, and I did it. But, the voice told you that if you'd kill me you'd _be_ _happy_, and you didn't do it. Why Rose?" And again with the pitying looks. I just can't stand it. My life is my life and whether I'm happy or not, it's not anyone's business.

"So, what you are saying is, that you want me to kill you?"

"Of course not!" Lissa looks appalled. "What I want is to know why do you always think that your feelings doesn't matter, that your happiness doesn't matter?" Liss whispers now again. "It was always like that. Even at school, you always put other's desires, mostly mine, above yours. It shouldn't be like that, Rose!" Lissa finishes her big speech with tears gathered in her eyes, and as much as I want to be mad at her right now, I can't. Behind her tears, I can see pure love and worry in her eyes, along with some shame and apology at her past actions.

Instead of just storming out and running away from the pitying looks all around me, I simply say. "I fail to see where you're heading with all this, Liss. This has nothing to do with me going to hunt that Strigoi."

"It has everything to do with that, Roza. And the fact that you don't see it is what worries us." Sonya says from her seat on the couch in front of me. Lissa walks across the small circle we have created and settles down back in Christian's lap. They all stare at me expectantly now.

"What is this?" I shout. "Some kind of an intervention?"

"You can call it that," Eddie is the one to answer me this time. "Or just your family, which loves you very much, trying to convince you not to go and get yourself killed."

"Well, the only thing you have succeeded achieving in this conversation is to tell everyone that Lissa stabbed me and I tried to kill her, and to piss me off. So why don't you tell me how your story fits perfectly into your _'Rose is too reckless to make decisions about her life'_ agenda so that you could all go home and I could go do my job," I pause for a second, daring anyone to contradict me. "Which I have been doing for the last _five years_," I stress on that sentence. "And come back when I'm finished." They all release an exasperated sighs as I talk, apparently expecting me to decide I'm staying here.

Nicolai stands up from his seat in the circle and sits down on the floor in front of me. He takes my hands in his and looks into my eyes. "I think it would be best if I will explain this to you, since I'm the one least connected to you, and you seem to not understand when Lissa is trying to say this gently." He smiles, trying to make us smile and break the tension a bit.

Nicolai releases my hands and sits more comfortably on the floor. My guess is that he is getting prepared to a rough argument. "What Lissa was trying to say by telling us the story, what we all try to make you realize, is that you have to stop sacrificing yourself and your desires," I open my mouth to object, but Nicolai "shh's" me. "Think about what your claims are, Rose. You won't forfeit the task because you don't want to send another girl to her death. But what about _your_ life, Rose? Why is someone else's life more important than yours?"

I remain speechless, which is not something you see every day. But really, how can I answer a speech like that? "Look, guys, I know you're all very concerned about me, and I love you for it. But I'm a big girl, and I know what I'm doing. I can't promise you I'll come back safe and sound. I know there's a possibility I won't come back at all; I'm not stupid." I roll my eyes. "But I'm willing to take that risk. And there's nothing you can do to stop me."

They all sigh again. "Now, I think it's time for me to start getting ready. Someone has anything else he wants to tell me before I leave?" I ask.

Everyone look down sadly. It breaks my heart to see how much pain I cause them, but I know I have to do this. "Just remember that we all love you," Olena whispers. "And that we only want what's best for you." I nod at them and stand up, so that I could hug everyone before being on my way.

I first go to a couch behind me, where Paul, Gabriel and Rosalie are fast asleep. I feel horrible about waking them up, but I know that I may not come back, and that it would hunt them if they won't be able to at least tell me goodbye.

I shake their shoulder until they're at least half awake. "Hey," I whisper.

"Autie Rosie?" Gabriel asks. "What's going on?"

"I'm going to leave soon," I tell them. "Just wanted to tell you all goodbye." I hug the three of them together, with Paul in the middle, and then each one of them separately, kissing them on their foreheads.

"You guys have to take care of everyone while I'm gone, 'kay?" I say. "The family is going to be pretty sad, and I need you three to cheer them up."

"Why would they be sad, Auntie?" Rosalie asks in her cute tired voice. "You're going to come back, right?"

I was sure I'm going to come back when the task was announced, but now, after I've seen how terrified everyone is of this Strigoi, and after I've heard a few stories about him, I'm not so sure anymore. "I will if I can, baby." I give her another kiss. "But I'm not sure I would be able to. Either way, promise me you'd help everyone. Why don't you take everyone to the zoo tomorrow?" I suggest. "Don't let anyone stay in the house."

They all nod. I hug them tightly one last time, holding my tears in. Then, I move to the next person, Karolina.

"Love you, Sis," I whisper as I hug her tightly. "Don't be sad." I feel a few tears drop from her eyes to my neck, but I ignore it. I kiss her on the check and release her, smiling slightly before moving to Sonya. Karolina picks up Gabriel in one hand, which is a very big achievement since he's already five, and hugs Paul with the other, crying softly. "Don't cry, Ma." I hear Paul say. "Auntie Rosie is the best fighter in the world. She'll come back."

I chuckle while embracing Sonya. It's pretty much the same thing that happened with Karolina, and I have to fight to keep my tears in check.

Ugh, I hate saying goodbye, especially when I don't know if I'll be back. That's why running away was always my thing, no one can see you crying when they don't know you're leaving. And I hate it when someone sees me crying.

After I say goodbye to Paul, Rosalie, Gabriel, Karolina, Sonya, Vika, Nicolai, Lev, Artur, Adrian and Christian, I turn to Mia and Eddie.

"Good luck on your doctor's appointment today," I whisper to them both as I stand in front of them. Since their appointment is in a Moroi clinic in Moscow, their appointment is at 3 A.M. while here in Baia, we live on the human timeline, which means everyone will be asleep.

Mia sobs and pulls Eddie and me into a tight hug. "I really don't like the fact that you're going, Rose, but I know that if someone can do this, you can." Eddie whispers. "Besides, you have to come back." He states. "We're making you our little girl's godmother." I smile; Eddie and I have always been like brother and sister, and I'm glad a five years break hasn't changed that.

"It's going to be a boy." Mia growls.

"Girl." Eddie retorts.

"Boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

I laugh loudly. "I love you, guys." I kiss them both on the cheek before moving to Olena.

I take her gentle hands in one of mine and use the other hand to wipe off her tears. "I can't tell you how grateful I am that you accepted me into the family, Ma. And I know you're mad at me for accepting the task, but I'm not doing this just for me, I'm doing this for everyone. I can't let that Strigoi keep feeding off of people in this town. Anyone could be next. You understand, right?"

Olena nods slowly. "The fact that I understand why you're doing this does not mean that I approve of it, Roza. I just want to see you safe and happy."

"Then you need to know that I'll never be happy if I'll know I had the chance to save so many people and I gave up on it." I keep wiping off the tears that are still running down her face.

"That's the only reason why I don't have you tied down to a chair in our basement yet, Roza." She laughs. "I just want what's best for you."

A lonely tear falls from my eyes. "I love you, Mom."

Olena hugs me tightly. "I love you too, Roza. You're the best daughter I could have asked for."

Karolina and Sonya clear their throat playfully, glaring at their mother.

"Oh that's not what I meant and you know it. You three are the best daughters I could have asked for. And since Dimitri is my only son I have, I'm not going to get another daughter except Roza, so I'm glad I already have you as a daughter."

I blush slightly as Olena's words settle in. Does she really think Dimitri won't bring another girl home except for me? I mean, if I won't come back after today, surely he'll find a new girl eventually, right?

"I love you, Ma." I tell her, purposely ignoring the meaning of the words she just uttered. Surely, she didn't really mean them; she just wanted to convince me not to go by telling me Dimitri will suffer. We weren't even dating for Christ's sake!

She kisses my cheek gently and I can't help but let the tears start flowing. How could anyone stand hearing Olena so hurt and sad, I'll never know.

Before I could move on to the next goodbye, (By the time I got to say goodbye to Olena, the kids already fell asleep again and everyone got back to their seats because they were tired of standing for so long.) Someone lays their hand heavily on my back. As I turn around, I see Abe with tears in his eyes, and Olena immediately pulls him into our hug.

"Don't cry, Old Man," I whisper, because I'm sure he does not want everyone to see him cry. "You're not going to get rid of me so easily." I try to joke, but he sends me a stern look.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't in your life, Rose," He says, and I immediately startle. I always saw Abe as a heartless mobster, and now to see him acting like that… and _crying…_ It creeps me out.

"You are now," I tell him. "And that's what matters."

"Roza is right, Abe." Olena whispers to him too. "What has happened in the past should stay in the past. It won't help anyone for you to keep torturing yourself over it now."

We stay in this position for a few more moments, none of us wanting to let go of the other. "You are the best parents I could have asked for. I'm so grateful I have you, guys."

I hear someone clear their throat behind me, and as I turn my head around I see Yeva waiting for her turn to say goodbye. I leave Olena and Abe's embrace and move right into Yeva's. I manage to see Abe and Olena clinging to each other before I bury my face in Yeva's neck.

It's not very shocking for me to realize how hard it is to say goodbye to my family. I have no idea what I was thinking when I planned to leave in a month.

"Any advices, Babushka?" I ask.

"Don't die." She says loudly and I chuckle. I'm the only one to find this amusing. Everyone look at me with sad eyes, filled with tears and sadness.

"The problem isn't finding out where you are going to go – it's figuring out what you are going to do once you get there that is." Adrian says from across the room in a weird sensei voice.

I turn around to face him, leaving Yeva's embrace but keeping one of my hands around her shoulder. "What?" What he just said would have sounded so weird if he hadn't said it in that voice; but by the way he sounded everyone could realize he wasn't in a sane state of mind. It was his 'crazy' voice. And he shouldn't have these crazy moods anymore.

Just when I'm about to suggest that I'll heal the darkness out of him, Adrian switches the dreamy look on his face to a smug one. "What's wrong, Rose? Do you need a hearing device? I thought you said you now have 'heightened' senses along with your super powers. Doesn't seem so 'heightened' to me. Maybe it's better if you stay home." He smirks and I scowl.

"I'm going to shove one of those hearing devices so far up your ass; you will hear the sound of your small intestine as it produces shit." I glare at him and ignore the glare Olena sends my way after my threat, sending a glance to the kids to make sure they are still asleep.

Before Olena could manage to scold me because of my threat, I hurriedly remove my arm from around Babushka's shoulders and take a few steps to stand in front of Denis, ready to say my goodbye.

The worst thing about this situation is that we don't know if we'll see each other ever again. Denis has been the best friend anyone could have ever asked for in the last five years and I hate seeing him so upset over my leaving, I hate the fact that I'm the one causing him pain. I never want to do that, but lately it seems like that's the only thing I am capable of doing.

It will probably be better for him if I'll never return from this mission. Even though it will hurt hum at the beginning, he will be able to forget me eventually, he will be able to move on.

"I guess this is goodbye," I say in a choked voice, and raise my arms to warp them around his waist.

But, before I could even rest my arms around him, Denis puts his hands around my waist and slings me over his shoulder ,carrying me caveman-style towards one of the bedrooms.

Even though I have a very strong urge to scream and pound on his back until he drops me, I just stay there, quiet and calm, dangled over his shoulder until he reaches the door he was looking for, opens it and sets my feet gently back on the floors the he could face me.

"This doesn't have to be a goodbye." He says. "The letter didn't mention anything about you having to do this alone, Rosie. I can come with you. I can help you."

I start to panic. No! Denis can't come with me. I've already ruined his life enough as it is with all my drama. The last thing he needs is me getting him killed. He won't be another Mason. I won't let him.

"Denis, no." I say. "There is no way in hell I'll let you come on this mission with me. You're going to stay here with the guys and your brother and if I won't come back… Then that's what was meant to be."

"It was not meant to be and you know it." He growls. "You can't stop me from coming with you just like I can't stop you from going at all."

"I'll fight with you if I'll have to." I tell him, my eyes pleading him to understand why I'm doing this. "I'll leave you unconscious and will leave the place before you wake up, without even a goodbye. Is that what you want to happen?" I really would, and I don't care how harsh it sounds. It's for his own good.

Denis looks at me with big, sad eyes. "Please don't do this, Rosie. Just let me come with you, let me help you stay alive." He pleads. Of course he knows I meant what I said, he knows me too well not to.

Denis sits down numbly on what I assume is his new bed in what was Nicolai's old apartment and now belongs to the guys. By the look of this room, I'm pretty sure Denis carried me to his bedroom. "Please Rosie, don't do this. Don't leave me like that." He pleads again and my heart breaks into millions of tiny pieces. Here I am, hurting him again. This is exactly why I can't let him come with me.

I settle down in his lap, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Baby. I just can't let you come with me. I won't."

Denis crushes me as close as he can to his body and buries his face in my neck and hair. "Then don't leave." He mumbles.

I place my hand under his chin and pull his head up so that I could look at him in the eyes. "I can't." I say. "I'm sorry."

A lone tear runs down his cheek and he quickly wipes it off.

"I love you." I tell him. "I really do. I just wish it would have been enough."

Denis looks deep into my eyes and leans forward. I know I should stop him, but I also know that by doing that, I'll hurt him even more. So, I let his lips crash into mine.

His kiss is nice, soft and comforting. But it doesn't have the passion I share with Dimitri. It doesn't make me feel breathless, speechless, or any other 'less' you could come with. Well, except heartless.

I'm eventually the one to break the kiss. Denis looks at me with expectant eyes. "I'm sorry." Is all I manage to utter. But those two words are apparently enough to break Denis's heart. I can see it in his eyes.

"No, I'm sorry." He says. "I know you don't feel like that towards me. Or, at least, not enough. I shouldn't have done that."

I give him one last peck on the lips and a sad smile before I get off of his lap.

"I better go call Lissa," He says. "I'm sure you want to do the last two goodbyes more privately than the others." He gets up from the bed and heads toward the door.

"Denis," I call and he halts in his steps, his back facing me. "I love you, I really do. It's just that…" I pause, not sure how and if I should continue.

"It's just that you love Belikov more." He finishes the sentence for me. "I know, Rosie." He sends me a sad smile before leaving the room and signaling for Liss to come in and close the door after her.

"Hey Liss," I say as she sits down next to me on the bed.

"Hey," She sits quietly next to me on the bed, folding her hands in her lap and keeping her head down, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Would you like to explain?" I ask tentatively, as to show her I'm not mad at her and not accusing her of anything.

"About why I told everyone what happened last week or why I've been avoiding you ever since it happened?" She sighs.

"Both." I shrug.

"Well, I think Nicolai explained my intentions as to why I chose to open everything that had happened in front of everyone pretty well. And as of why I was ignoring you… Do you really don't see it? See the difference?"

"I really don't." I say. "Talk to me, Liss. You know I'll never be mad at you, especially not about something you had no control about. I understand if you got freaked out about what happened after you passed out but all you needed to do was talk to me. Why would you feel it was necessary to ignore me like that?"

"You know what Rose?" Lissa bursts. "I'm sick of it, okay? I'm just sick of it!"

"Sick of what?"

"Sick of all this self-loathing you've got going on." She screams. "The reason I was ignoring you wasn't because you almost tried to kill me, it was because that when I was in your head, when I heard what that voice told you, I realized something."

"Which is…"

Liss rubs her forehead roughly. "That voice… That voice told me that if I would kill you, I'll get my family back, right? And I stabbed you in the chest."

"Right. And?"

"And it told you that if you'd kill me, you'd be happy, right? And the only thing you did was lift me off the ground a few inches and then set me back down."

"Okay…"

"Don't you see how wrong that is? I want you, for once in your life, to think only about yourself, and what you want; Instead of putting everyone in front of you."

I sigh deeply. "This conversation sounds awfully familiar, don't you think, Liss? Maybe it's because we already had it about an hour ago with the rest of the family." I really hate to use this tone of sarcasm with Liss, but that's the only thing that may make her leave it alone.

"Yeah I know, Rose. But…"

"Not buts. We've been through it. I'm not backing out of this task and nothing anyone will say will change that. I'm sorry Liss but not even you."

"And I?" A strong voice from the doorway questioned. "Maybe I can change your mind?"

We both turn around abruptly, startled by the voice. We see Dimitri standing at the entrance, looking at us with sad eyes.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your time together, Roza, Princess," He tells us. "But I would like to speak with Roza, and her time is coming short." He steals a look down to his watch. "We only have half an hour before you have to leave."

Why would we need more than ten minutes to say goodbye? I hope Dimitri isn't planning on having a heart-to-heart right now, because the last thing I need is to go out to this mission with a broken heart.

"Sure, Dimitri." Lissa smiles sadly, and then turns back to me and engulfs me in her arms.

"Be careful," She whispers.

"Always." I wink at her and watch her leave the room, closing the door behind her.

Now it's just the two of us in this room, and the silence starts getting uncomfortable. I sigh. "Dimitri," I start, breaking the silence, but he shakes his head, telling me to stop.

"I'm not going to pressure you not to do this task, or argue with you not to go, Roza." He states.

"You're not?" I question, shocked. He, with his over-protectiveness behavior, not going to argue with me over this? Obviously, I'm relieved I won't have to argue with him about this, but I'm ashamed to admit that I'm also a bit disappointed that Dimitri is willing to let me go like that. Of course no one would ever manage to convince me not to go, but it was nice to know that they cared.

"I know you too well to try to convince you, Roza. I know that once you've made up your mind, there is no way to change it back. I know there is no use of arguing with you, so instead I'd rather help you." He concludes. "There is nothing I'd like more than to know you're safe, happy, and back in the house. But, since I can't know that yet, I'll just have to make sure you'll come back, and then make sure you'll be safe and happy, just like I want you to be."

"Dimitri…" I sigh again.

"Shh Roza, just listen." He takes a deep breath in and releases it slowly. "While I was… While I was a Strigoi, I've met this Strigoi you're supposed to hunt. He was Galina's boss and wanted me to join him and live at his mansion; thought I had huge potential as a Strigoi." He rolls his eyes, and I see how much it hurts him to talk about it.

"I refused, not wanting to stay so close to Baia, so he threatened to kill someone from the Belikov family." I gasp. "I may have not been able to feel love at the time, but I did have an ego; A rather large one, and I was furious he'd even think to threaten my family." Dimitri stops from a minute, unable to continue, and I start rubbing soothing circles across is back.

"What happened then?" I whisper.

"I paid someone to place wards around the house," He sighs. "And I've also stationed some Strigois around Baia, with strict orders to not attack anyone." He flinches at that. "Do you remember killing two Strigois before coming in here? Those were Strigois I've stationed, who had disobeyed my orders."

"Really?" I ask. "So you knew I stayed with your family?"

"Yes," he sighs again, and suddenly he looks twenty years older.  
**[AN: I know that RM wrote he was surprised when Rose said she was with his family, but lets just pretend she didn't ;-)]**

"I knew you were staying with my family, but so did Charles Montgomery, which, by the way, is the Strigoi's name."

"Wait," I cut him with wide eyes. "You want to tell me that the scary Strigoi I'm supposed to fight is called after a character from 'The Simpsons'?" I start laughing, and Dimitri just shakes his head and chuckles a bit.

"Why am I not surprised you recognized his name?" He chuckles. "No, he wasn't called after a character from 'The Simpsons'. There once was a legend about a vampire which used to go out and attack people, and the vampire was called Charles Montgomery. The legend was about his Moroi days, even then he used to go out and attack humans, so the makers of 'The Simpsons' called their character after him." He smiles for a bit. "Now after we cleared that up, may I go back to the story?"

I nod my head and wait for him to continue. "Like I said, Charles also knew you stayed with my family and started digging up about our past. When he found what he wanted he came to me and threatened your life, but by then you'd already left the house. I sent a couple of Strigois to protect you, and he sent a couple to kidnap you. You've met some of them. You actually tortured and staked them, but when the one you set free told Galina what you were doing, she refused to send more, so I convinced her to let me keep you with me in the hotel by promising you'll be a great Strigoi." We both shudder at the thought. "His mansion is just outside Baia, you just have to continue through the dirt road 'till you see a mansion."

Dimitri stops for a second but then continues. "He has some of the strongest Strigois living with him and he has a vault where he keeps all of his victim's possessions. He also has humans working for him."

"Thank you for telling me that, Dimitri." I tell him. "Not just the information on the Strigoi, but also your history with him, I know it wasn't easy for you. I promise to sneak in 'Dimitri sends his regards' right before I stake him." I joke, but it only seems to make us both more anxious.

"You don't need to send him my regards, because I'll be doing it myself." Dimitri growls.

"What?"

"You didn't think I'd let you go there alone, did you, Roza?" He smiles. "I'm going to keep you safe, even if it's the last thing I'll do."

"No you're not! If you think for one second that you're going to come with to this mission then you're very, very mistaken. I'm doing this alone." I growl.

"Be reasonable, Roza. I know where the exits are, I know how to get to the vault and I know which room belongs to which Strigoi. You need me so that you could win this, Roza." He begs. "I need you to come back safe. And _alive_, and for that I need to be there to make sure you won't get hurt. So even if you'll manage to run away from me now, and you'll go there alone, I know where he lives, Roza. I will help you stay alive, whether you like it or not."

"If you're planning on coming there while I'll already be there then you should know you'll be doing more damage than help." I snap at him. "You don't know my action plan, so by going there you may just reveal to the Strigois that I'm there." I tell him.

"Then I'll just have to make sure you won't be able to run away from me and go alone." He states. "You're not going alone and that's final."

I look deep into Dimitri's eyes and see pure determination. He really isn't going to let me walk out of here alone. Well, I'm not going to let him come with me.

"I'm really sorry, Dimitri." I sigh, and before he could even object I punch really hard on a dot in his neck which leaves him unconscious immediately.

I know that now, after I've pointed out the flaws in his plan to come to the mansion after I've already arrived, he'd never do it. And if rending Dimitri unconscious is the only solution to me walking out of here alone, then that's definitely what I'm going to do.

"I'm sorry," I whisper and place a small peck on his soft lips before leaving his spread on Denis's bed and exiting the room.

"Denis, I need to borrow on of your stakes," I say as I walk back into the living room.

Denis just nods his head and walks back into the room I just exited.

"Where's Dimitri, Rose?" Lissa asks from her seat on the couch.

"Unconscious on Denis's bed. He's going to wake up in a couple more hours with a killer headache. Make sure he takes some Advil, okay?"

Lissa just nods her head, too shocked to say anything else.

"Belikov tried to come with you, didn't he?" Denis asked as he re-entered the room, and I just nodded. "I see you weren't kidding." He adds, and I just nod my head again.

"I must be going," I tell them all.

Before anyone could say anything else, I turn around and leave the apartment, wiping a small tear from my cheek without anyone noticing.

And then I started walking. And walking. And walking. Until I was standing in front of the place where I'll most likely spend my last moments, trying to take with me as much Strigois as I could.

* * *

**R&R!**


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